


Through The Time Stream

by OwlCatPtr



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Drama, Episode: s03e12-e13 The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Trenzalore, run you clever boy and remember, the end of time, the sound of the drums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-03-13 10:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18939511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlCatPtr/pseuds/OwlCatPtr
Summary: Clara jumped into the Doctor's time stream to save his life. Falling through everything he's ever done, but accidentally lands at a time when the 10th Doctor was roaming. There to help, the Doctor takes her on, just when the human race is off to Utopia and Harold Saxon is voted into office.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is a completed story, but I am re-posting it here from fanfic dot net. So if it sounded familiar and you think you may have read it previously...you just might have!

_One day you meet the Doctor. And of course, it's the best day ever. It's just the best day of your life. Because, because he's brilliant, and he's funny, and mad, and best of all, he really needs you. The trick is, don't fall in love. I do that trick quite a lot, sometimes twice a day. And once you start running, you start to forget, slowly. After a while, you just stop asking. Who are you? Where are you from? What set you on your way and where are you going? Oh, and what is your name? You get used to not knowing. I thought I never would. I was wrong. I know who he is. I know how he began and I know where he's going. I know the truth about the Doctor and his greatest secret. The day we went to Trenzalore._

"I don't know where I am." Clara murmured after having landed a bit roughly on the hard floor. Looking up, it didn't take her long to recognize the place she was in. The TARDIS. But it was different. Not the dark and silver she was used to. No, this one was bright. This was not her Doctor's TARDIS. Standing up, Clara slowly crept up to the console. It groaned at her in its usual way, it's dislike clear to her. "You are the same old cow aren't you?" She half joked.

Lightly, her hand grazed upon the controls of the ship. Clara smiled softly at knowing she was in the TARDIS. That meant she was safe as far as she was concerned. But how safe? Last she remembered, the Doctor was in trouble. He was dying. His whole life being rewritten by the Great Intelligence, that mad man. Clara had thrown herself into his life force, living in every time stream. There in all of his regenerations. "Seems I've gotten myself stuck in one." She said to herself. Or maybe she said it to the ship, after all, she listens.

The TARDIS doors opened, a cold breeze rushing through, then just as quickly closed. A tall man wearing a long brown coat and the funniest hair Clara had ever seen was strolling over to the controls. The man stopped in his tracks when he noticed her standing there. Clara folded her arms, knowing this must be the Doctor. "Which one are you then?" She asked, her brows creasing as she took a few steps closer to him.

The man continued to stare at her in utter confusion. Of course he couldn't understand how she managed to get into his beloved ship. This was happening too much. "What?" He asked, taking off his coat and tossing it to the side, never taking his eyes off of the mysterious female.

"You're the Doctor are you not?" Clara questioned more for his benefit. When he slightly nodded, obviously taken back a bit by her knowledge, Clara took a few steps closer to him. "Which one then?" She asked again.

The Doctor stood quiet for a moment more, his hands shoved themselves into his pocket. "Ten." He said softly, his eyes wandering up and down her figure. Who was she? Where did she come from? Why is she in his TARDIS as if she belonged in here?

"You'll be asking yourself all those questions and more when this song ends. But that won't be for a while. "When he gave her a look of slight interest, Clara smiled and leaned against the console. "You give me that look a lot. I know it's when you're running questions about me in your head."

The Doctor's mind was running with questions, and the fact that she knew him, a future him, made her interesting. "I'm sorry but, who are you?" Now he crossed his arms across his chest. First Donna appeared to him in her wedding dress right after his loss, and now this girl. If the TARDIS was just playing a joke on him, he'd like for her to stop.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Clara." She moved off the console, holding out her hand for him to take. She saw his hesitation. After all if she was from his future, what kind of paradox would their touch create. She listened to the Doctor and learned a lot. But as far as she was concerned, their touch wouldn't do anything horrible. After all, Clara was tossed here to help him. To save him. Something was wrong somewhere in the near future, and she would be here to save his life.

Extending his hand, the Doctor shook her hand firmly. She seemed to be an upbeat person. He could believe his future self would travel with her if he was anything like how he was now. "Clara what?" He asked, offering her a smile.

"I'll let your future self find that out." She smiled, letting go of his hand. "Perhaps the day you tell me Doctor who." Walking over to the captains chair, Clara took a seat and folded one leg over the other.

The Doctor laughed a bit at the question and scratched the back of his head simply for his hand to have something to do. "Right, well." He didn't know what to say. She knew him, but he knew nothing about her. And this Clara female didn't really seem like she was going to openly tell him things. She seems to have learned a thing or two about time travel. Which really was a good thing. But now he was left to wonder and simply...not know. If there is one thing the Doctor didn't like, it was not knowing the answer to any given situation. "Why are you here?" He decided to ask anyways.

There goes a question Clara has been asking herself since she landed here. If she was meant to save the Doctor, then something was sure about to happen in this time stream that he needed her for. Her smile faded and she looked straight into his eyes. Those same old eyes that have seen too much for their own good. "I don't know." Clara answered softly. "I just know I'm here to help."

Frowning slightly, the Doctor looked over to his jacket tossed aside. It lay next to another jacket. Not his. But Rose's. "You're too late for that." He spoke in such sorrow that it worried Clara. The Doctor took a deep breath and looked back at Clara. "We should get you home then." Stepping around the control, he began hitting the controls before turning back to look at her expectantly.

"Well I'm not going to give you my address or time line so you can stop looking at me." Clara said as she stood up from where she sat to lean against the console. "This is more complicated then that Doctor. More complicated then you could ever imagine."

The Doctor crossed his arms and leaned against the console next to her. There was something odd about her. Something off. Something...familiar. This could be a trick. Or maybe she was a trap. "If you travel with a future me. Tell me something only I would know at this point in time." He clicked his tongue in amusement.

So they were going to play at that game. Well then, she had seen his whole life up until this moment. And she knew future him. Though of course Clara couldn't tell him any of the future stuff. The sorrow in his voice from just moments ago. Clara glanced at the discarded jackets and nodded towards them. "Her name was Rose." She said as she looked back at him, watching his features carefully.

"Yes, her name was Rose." He repeated softly, his gaze seemed to be looking beyond everything in the room. Shaking his head slightly, the Doctor studied Clara for a bit. "That's too easy. It's too recent."

Clara laughed slightly and nodded her head. They were still playing this game. So she'd have to go further back if she was going to get him to trust her. "This TARDIS, you stole it. You looked into the vortex and ran. You're from Gallifrey." Clara wondered to herself for a moment how she even knew that. All of her former lives knowledge was seeping into her head the more she thought. She knew everything about him. Everything he ever did. Everything he ever will do up until the day she's actually from. Everything except his name. "You took your granddaughter with you. You fought the Master time and time again. You walked away from the last great time war. She was the first person this face saw. Bad Wolf. The Dalek's and Cybermen fought at Torchwood." The knowledge was starting to give Clara a slight headache.

The Doctor had heard enough and he took a few steps away from her. Surely he didn't actually tell her all of that. What was Clara to a future him? If she knew all this then she had to be important. The Doctor always told his companions bits and pieces. But this girl knew too much. "Who are you?" He asked again more to himself.

Clara brought her hands up to her head, taking a few deep breaths. "Doctor, my head." Her eyes shut as she felt the Doctor's arm wrap around her shoulders and guide her to sit down. A splitting headache had been approaching and went away just as quickly once she sat down. Opening her eyes slowly, Clara looked up at the Doctor and smiled a bit. "Thank you."

Sitting next to her, the Doctor nodding his acknowledgement and continued to make sure she was alright. "For you to know all that...are you not human?" He knew the answer to his own question, but asked just to be on the safe side. Clara gave him a look that made him smile at his own silly question. "Alright fair enough. You say your here go help, but you don't even know what it is that I'll apparently be needing help with?"

Nodding, Clara dropped her hands onto her lap and sighed. "If I'm here, something big is about to happen. I'm not saying its right now. I'm not saying its in the next three trips the TARDIS might take. But it's out there. And it's deadly."

The Doctor gazed into her eyes as she spoke. This girl appeared into his TARDIS out of nowhere. She was from the future. Not just any future, his own future. One he can not go to. Clara seemed genuine and anxious to help him. It was obvious she cared about him. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" The Doctor shot up from his seat and sent them on their way to wherever the TARDIS was taking them next.


	2. Martha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is to kinda show how Clara will take the role of other characters from the episodes.

It didn't take long for the TARDIS to pick up on odd signals coming from a hospital on Earth. The Doctor decided to fake an illness to get them in. Clara decided against it. After all a nurse would be in shortly to take notes on his situation and checking his heart beat, well they'll be shocked to find he had two. So Clara decided to fake illness instead and get them a spot in the hospital. The two of them walked in, claiming to be Mr. and Mrs. Smith, much to the Doctor's dislike. Once they were given a bed, the Doctor started to run a scanner to monitor the whole hospital.

A group of doctors in training took a stop at their station, the man babbling about while the class took notes, except for one female who answered his question with ease. She then proceeded to check Clara's heart beat. Clara smiled on and did as she was told, breathing evenly. "Does it all seem alright then?" Clara asked.

"Yes, perfectly so." The female responded with a smile. Though her smile faded a bit when her instructor deemed she was wrong and criticized.

The Doctor smiled and stood from his side chair to stand next to the female. "Care to check mine then?" He asked, raising his brows with excitement.

The female was a bit hesitant at first, but proceeded to check his heart beat as well. Clara watched as the female looked up at the Doctor and he gave her a small wink. The female looked at Clara as well as if to check if she also knew this revelation. Giving her a small nod, the female smiled at the two of them before noticing her class was moving on. The instructor turned to hurry her along. "There's more to see Ms. Jones, if you would care to join us."

The Doctor smiled and held out his hand to her. "Nice to meet you Ms. Jones."

Taking his hand quickly, she shook it firmly. "Please, just Martha, Mr. Smith."

"Not Mr. Smith, just the Doctor." He smiled at her. "Nice to meet you Martha."

Turning to Clara, Martha held her hand out and shook it firmly. "Its not Mrs. Smith, is it?"

"Just Clara. Keep your eyes open." She smiled. This female was smart and nice. And interested in them. Clara already thought it was a good thing Martha wasn't about to run and turn them in. After all, she just listened in on a man's two hearts beating. Once Martha caught up with her class and was out of ear shot, Clara turned to look at the Doctor with a curious glance. "Open about your alien-ism?"

The Doctor laughed a bit and took a seat. "Hey, you're sick, act a bit sicker." He took out his scanner from his pocket and held it up to his nose. The small lights on it blinked slowly as it continued its scan throughout the building. "Besides, did you get a look at her? She's smarter then that whole group including her guide on. Martha Jones, she's not going to tell anyone."

"No but she might come looking for you." Clara added quickly as she lay back on the bed. Waiting for this scanner to finish up was taking a lot longer then she had anticipated. But there was something about this place that seemed off to her. It gave her a bad vibe, but somehow she knew this wasn't the big and bad situation she was here for. But there was no choice except to let time play itself out.

The scanner started beeping just as it seemed to have started raining outside. The Doctor stood up, holding the scanner at eye level and started walking to the windows. Clara followed him, getting to the window just after he did. "Doctor." She said as her eyes widened. Her hand reached up to lightly pull at his sleeve as she stared out the window.

"Hold on, I'm waiting for the scanner to decipher what is wrong." He said and dismissed her.

She tugged on his sleeve harder. "Doctor." Clara said more sternly, pointing out the window when she knew he had looked up at her. "The rain. It's going up." There was a jolt as the ground shook, many people yelling there was an earthquake. Clara clung onto the Doctor as the whole building began to shake dramatically. They dropped down to the floor, shielding themselves from falling medical equipment.

Suddenly the building stopped shaking. Everyone stood where they were for a moment more, except for the Doctor who jumped to his feet and looked out the window. "Oh, well, we're not in Kansas anymore." He murmured as he took out a pair of glasses from his pocket and put them on.

"We were never in Kansas." Clara joked as she got to her feet and looked out the window. "Wait...that's Earth there." She said, pointing out the window once more.

The Doctor nodded and smirked. "Look who knows their solar system." He took off his glasses, sticking his tongue out and then clicking it a few times as if tasting something. "We're on the moon. And there's still oxygen but it will run out. Shallow breaths Clara." The Doctor turned on his heels and began walking away.

Quick on her feet, Clara turned and followed the Doctor out into the hallway where people were rushing to the nearest window to get a glimpse at where they were. It must be mind blowing. Clara easily remembers her first time stepping onto a new planet with the Doctor. She remembers the first time she moved from one place to another in the TARDIS. Yes it had been onto a plane that was about to crash, but they ended up saving the plane and making it back onto Earth safely. For these people who knew nothing about traveling in space besides the NASA, this was surely about to be an enormous shock. "So what exactly happened?" Clara asked once she caught up to the Doctor.

"Transport. We were transported here by something big. And before you ask about the oxygen, there's a shield around us preserving it." The Doctor didn't stop moving as he spoke. He was following the scanner and trying to find what had brought them all here. Who would transport a whole building?

Clara thought about what he said for a moment. "If the shield around is preserving the air, that means it'll run out like you said. Doctor there are a lot of people in here."

With a nod, the Doctor slowed his pace a bit, leading them to a staircase. Up or down, he didn't know which way, until he picked up on the sound of an engine. There was a ship landing, most likely the same one that was keeping the air in here. Running up the stairs, the Doctor and Clara made it to the roof of the hospital, shutting the door quickly to keep the air inside. Looking over the edge, the Doctor leaned his arms on the railing and sighed. "Judoon, I should have guessed that. A proud race, and protective. There is a rouge alien somewhere in this hospital." He looked to Clara, hoping she caught on to everything he just said.

Clara watched as the Judoon marched their way toward the hospital. "So an alien escaped from their...what, hospital?"

"Mental hospital could be. Or a jail. The Judoon a mercenary police force." The Doctor stood up straight and started walking back toward the door. We have to help them find the alien before the oxygen runs out."

Before the Doctor could open the door, it burst open to revel a short female. Martha Jones stood in the door frame, looking a lot more calmer then a lot of the humans in the building. "Thought I saw you two coming up here." She smiled as she began walking back down the stairs, Clara and the Doctor following close behind. "Figured you might have some answers on how a whole hospital has been brought to the moon, seeing how you have two hearts." She exited out onto the top floor of the hospital which was pretty deserted.

"Well, we have kind of an explanation." The Doctor said, scratching the back of his head as he looked around. "Might want to tell the staff to get oxygen tanks out just in case I take a bit to long to fix all of this. The Judoon are quite impatient. Though they won't harm anyone. They're only looking for it."

Martha looked at him in confusion. Clara smiled at her. "He always talks like that. Bit confusing. First things first, you already know that he's an alien, two hearts and all. So let your mind accept what seems unreal at the moment."

Nodding, Martha took a deep breath. "Alright, explain."

The Doctor smiled at the two females. Clara was proving to be helpful and Martha was proving to be smart and open minded. "Like I said, the Judoon, big aliens with weapons and heads of rhinos are here. They are police. And there is an escaped prisoner here in the hospital. They came looking for it." He looked around once more wondering why not one person has seemed to step out into the hallway yet.

Martha nodded her understanding, obviously trying to process it all. Clara listened carefully and began trying to piece things together. "Alright, so it escaped, but why come to a hospital?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"There must be its food supply here. What's something you can get easily at a hospital and go unnoticed." The Doctor asked, beginning to pace back and forth.

It was quiet for a moment before Martha raised her hand. "Blood! We have packs of blood kept refrigerated in case a patient needs some."

"Ah yes! Brilliant! How can we get to it?" The Doctor asked quickly.

Martha thought for a moment. "The president of the hospital. He has the master key to the building."

Clara winced a bit as her head gave off a sharp jolt of pain, but just as quickly it went away. She cleared her throat as if to brush it off and smiled at Martha. "Lead the way Ms. Jones."

The trio started their journey down the deserted hallway. Once they reached the office, Martha didn't even bother to knock. The door burst open and the trio stopped in the door frame. An old lady stood there, a simple straw in her hand and the president of the hospital on the floor. Two large men dressed in back wearing motorcycle helmets turned to face the door as the old lady smiled at them. "Hello there dears. Caught me having my snack." The lady said with a laugh.

"I've seen them before. One of them bumped into me. And then I saw the other meeting up with him by the elevator." Martha looked to and from each of the men and then to the old lady standing between them. "And her. Mrs. Finnegan. Checked in as a patient."

"That's no patient." The Doctor said, pulling Martha back. "I'm the Doctor. I can help you."

The ladies smile vanished as she looked at the three of them. Putting her straw back in her bag, she looked to her two guards and nodded. "Kill them."

"Well that's not good." Clara said as they started backing out of the room.

The Doctor turned quickly. "Run!" He yelled. The trio ran down the hall as fast as they could, making their way into the radiology room. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and pushed both females behind the glass. "When I say to push, push the button!" He ran back over to a piece of equipment and began harassing it.

Martha and Clara looked around at all of the buttons he could possibly mean. They both looked upon a big yellow one, nodding to each other and placing their hands on it. The door burst open, the men stepping through one at a time. "Now!" The Doctor yelled. Clara and Martha pushed on the button together, emitting the radiology room. They ducked down behind the counter, waiting for it all to stop. "It's okay now. I've soaked up all the energy. You two can come out now."

The Doctor focused as he transferred all of the soaked up energy to his left foot, tossing his shoe into the bin and then the other at Martha's remark. They left the room cautiously, only to be unlucky and run into the Judoon. It scanned Martha, drawing an X on her hand and moving to Clara. The scanner went a bit haywire, the Judoon becoming edgy and pushing her against the wall. "What are you?!" It bellowed at her.

Clara tried to keep calm as confusion settled in. And then it hit her. She's covered in the Doctor's energy having jumped into his life stream. Basically, she stinks of alien. "I'm human." Clara tried to reason with them.

"You let her go. She is human." The Doctor said seriously. The Judoon turned to him in aggravation, scanning him quickly. "Whoops." He muttered.

"Not human!" The Judoon yelled, reaching for its weapon as others did the same.

The Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and began to run. They ducked as red lasers were fired at them and turned the corner. Running down the hall until they made it back to the radiology area. Clara picked up on a funny sound coming from one of the rooms and pulled the Doctor towards it.

The old lady stood there messing with the equipment as it began to shoot static around. The noise grew in sound as Clara and the Doctor closed the doors. The old lady looked up at them with an annoyed look as she continued her work. "Still alive then? Well, that won't be for much longer." She walked over to them slightly and kept her hands behind her back. Once close enough, she reveled a small can, spraying it at Clara. Instantly Clara fell to the ground out cold. The Doctor fell to his knees, still having a bit of energy thanks to his own immune system. "You're a strong one. I'll drink from you then." The old lady bent down with her straw and stuck it into the Doctor's neck. She began drinking his blood cheerfully just as the doors burst open.

Martha marched in with the Judoon just as the old lady jumped to her feet babbling about how the man and woman on the ground tried to attack her. Martha shook her head and grabbed a scanner from the Judoon's pocket. "She's the one you're looking for!" With that Martha pressed the button on the scanner, revealing her as an alien.

The old lady stepped over to her experiment and plugged it all in. "You'll all go down with me! This will kill anything within a two hundred fifty thousand mile radius!"

She didn't get to finish explaining as the Judoon shot her with their red lasers. Taking a look at what she had been up to, the Judoon confirmed the machine will blow and retreated their troops, leaving the humans to die. Martha tried to plead with them just as Clara was coming to again. Looking up, it was getting hard to breath as their oxygen supply was ending. And yet she saw Martha using every last breath trying to revive the Doctor. Clara crawled over to them, helping her pump at his two hearts. With a deep breath and a few coughs, the Doctor came to. Martha collapsed by his side and Clara pointed to the machine before collapsing.

The Doctor rushed over as quickly as he could to stop the machine. Once it was dead he looked at the females and then rushed to the nearest window. "Don't leave them here to die. Come on Judoon, reverse it." He pleaded as the Judoon ships began to take off. Suddenly it started to rain, making the Doctor smile brightly. "Look at that, it's raining on the moon!"

A bright light and they were back on Earth, oxygen rushing into their lungs. Clara coughed a few times as she sat up, Martha doing the same. Standing up, Clara rushed over to the Doctor, hugging him tightly and grateful to be alive. "You did it!" She exclaimed with excitement.

He hugged her in return having forgotten what a good hug felt like after a victory. Martha came next to hug him a bit weakly and made sure she got herself to an ambulance truck for steady oxygen and a diagnosis. The Doctor and Clara then set off for the TARDIS, waving to Martha as a woman next to her babbled on. Once inside the Doctor set them on their way into the vortex. Clara leaned against the railing, looking around once more at the difference of this TARDIS compared to the one she normally traveled in. It gave off the same lonely feeling.

Turning to the Doctor, Clara walked over to where he sat on the captains chair and sat next to him. "She seems like a good companion. That Martha." Clara watched as the Doctor smirked a bit. "You should bring her along."

Shaking his head, the Doctor leaned back in his seat and placed his feet on the controls. "Nah, I don't really need anyone new right now. I'm already stuck with you." He joked as he placed his arms behind his head and smiled.

Giving him a playful punch on the arm, Clara stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "You should go get her. You don't do well traveling alone, and no one should." Clara gave a small jump as the TARDIS screen turned on to show the news.

_'Oh you should have seen it. Earth in the distance. It's everything Mr. Saxon has been telling us. We are not alone.'_

Clara grabbed onto her head as another splitting jolt ran through, but this time it didn't go away. "Doctor." She said, her voice low and in obvious agony. The Doctor was at her side in an instant but when he tried to grab onto her, his arms passed straight through her body. She looked up at him, obviously frightened. "Doctor...remember." She said.

Suddenly she was falling through the Doctor's time stream again.


	3. The End of The Universe

Clara opened her eyes slowly, the bright lights of the TARDIS shinning. She groaned as she threw her arm over her eyes to shield them and began to sit up. "You're being brighter on purpose." Clara groaned to the TARDIS who seemed to laugh at her. Standing up, Clara looked around to see no one there. It was once again the older TARDIS rather then the one she was used to traveling in. Which meant she wasn't at the end of her journey. "Doctor?" She called only to receive no answer. Walking cautiously around the controls, Clara hugged herself at the loneliness.

Deciding it was best to await his return, Clara sat on the seat next to the console and brought her knees, hugging them to her chest. It was too quiet. There wasn't a time she knew the TARDIS to not have some noise going on. Whether it was the Doctor babbling or the ship herself making creaking sounds. It all just felt too lonely. And not knowing where she was made her heart pound in her chest. What if she was stuck here forever? The Doctor out there, paused in time and Clara alone in a quiet ship that doesn't even like her very much.

To Clara's relief she heard the door open and close quickly. The Doctor strode over and began flicking switches quickly as another set of footsteps started up toward the console. Martha appeared on the other side of the controls and jumped when she saw Clara, her hand shooting up to her chest. "Oh my gosh. You're alive." She said as a smile formed on her face. Rushing over as Clara stood up, Martha pulled her into a tight hug before turning to the Doctor. "Doctor! Look!"

But he had just pulled on the lever and the TARDIS was on her way. Just as quick she began to go haywire, knocking all of them off their feet and grasping onto whatever they could find to keep themselves steady. The ship twist and shook frantically for what felt like hours, but finally she stopped. The Doctor jumped to his feet and rushed over to Martha. "Are you alright?!" He asked, helping her to her feet.

Nodding, Martha looked at the Doctor with a smile. "Look."

Turning to see what she was talking about, the Doctor spotted Clara getting to her feet. He was in shock for a moment, his mouth unable to find the words to say. Walking over to her, he placed a cautious hand on her shoulder before pulling her into breath taking hug. "You're okay." He whispered in relief. "I don't know what happened last time."

Clara hugged him in return. "I don't either. How long has it been?"

"Too long." The Doctor said as he released and looked her over like a protective father, making sure she was okay.

"Too long? It's been maybe ten minutes." Clara said as she pushed the Doctor away softly so he could stop being protective. She walked over to the console and looked at the recordings. It was always written in a weird language she didn't understand, though it was starting to look more and more familiar to her as time went on. "Where are we?" She asked.

The Doctor rushed over to read the monitor. His brows furrowed as he read what it said. "We're at…the end of the universe. We should go. We should really go." He spoke evenly but seemed worried. Suddenly he looked at the two females with a smile and rushed over to the door.

Martha looked to Clara, shrugging her shoulders and following the Doctor out. Once out into the world, she noticed a man laying on the ground next to them. "Oh my gosh!" She rushed over to his side and checked for a pulse. "He's dead." Beginning to pump at his heart, Martha tried to see if she could revive him.

"Just leave him. He's alright." The Doctor said as he looked around the landscaped area.

Clara looked from the dead man to the Doctor, confused on his declaration that the man was alright. Her confusion was cut short as the man came springing back to life even before Martha could induce CPR. He looked up at Martha and smiled. "Well hello. Names Captain Jack Harkness."

Martha was a bit taken back by the man's sudden revival and flirtation. "Martha Jones."

"Stop it." The Doctor said, looking over to Jack as he started to stand up.

"I was simply being polite." He smiled as he gave Martha a wink. He looked at the Doctor, his smile fading a bit. "Doctor...the incident back at Torchwood with the Dalek's and Cybermen...I read the missing reports. Her name was on it. Rose."

The Doctor smiled quickly. "Oh no, she's alive and fine. With Jackie and Mickey too."

Jack smiled brightly, ecstatic at the news and he rushed over to hug the Doctor. The two men bonded for a moment, Jack showed off his vortex manipulator to the Doctor's great disapproval. Jack took notice of the much smaller female standing next to Martha. He marched right over to her, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. "Captain Jack Harkness at your service."

"Clara." She said uneasily, taking her hand back and knitting her brows together as she walked over to the Doctor. "So, end of the universe. What do you suppose is going on here?"

Suddenly there was a loud scream. The gang looked over the edge of the cliff they stood on to see a man running away from a giant group holding torches. The Doctor put on his brainy specks and then put them back in his pocket quickly. "Well that looks like a hunt. Come on." He announced to everyone as he took off running.

Following quickly, they all made their way quickly down the cliff and into the open area, running for the man who seemed to be in distressed. Once they got close enough they slowed down, only to have the man run right passed them. "Get to the gate!" He yelled as he rushed pass.

The Doctor looked at the man in confusion, looking back to see the mob that was after him. After getting a good look at their mad rabid faces, the Doctor nodded his understanding. Clara quickly grabbed onto the Doctor's arm and pulled him along as the other two had already set off running. "Come on Doctor!"

The two set off running, catching up with the rest of the gang quickly as they neared the gate. A man stood at the gate, holding a flashlight and a gun. "Show me your teeth!" He yelled as they yelled for him to open the gate.

"Just show him!" The strange man who was being chased yelled at the newcomers.

Once everyone bared their teeth, the man motioned for the gate to be opened. Everyone ran inside quickly just as the mass hunt crowd was drawing in closer. The gate shut as soon as everyone was in, the crowd drawing to a stop right outside. The Doctor made his way to Martha to make sure she was okay, then checked on Clara. The guard walked over to them and shook hands. "Please, come inside won't you. I'll need your names for records." He took out a clip board as he led them inside.

"Martha Jones." Martha introduced as she entered the metal doors, looking around quickly as she noticed all of the people sitting around with their possessions. She saw a little boy helping the man they had met find his family. So young and working. She stopped to talk to him.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack looked around at all the people. He considered they were all here to escape from those things outside. But it seemed no one ever left since they all had their belongings with them. A man accidentally bumped into him, turning quickly to apologize. Jack smiled at the man and held out his hand. "Well hello there. I'm Jack." He gave the man a quick wink before the Doctor pulled him away.

Clara looked to the guard when he came up to her with his clipboard, noticing the Doctor looking at her. She smiled faintly at the guard. "Clara."

He wrote it down and seemed to be waiting. The guard looked up at her expectantly. "Last name miss?"

"It's just Clara." She smiled and walked away, catching up with Jack and Martha.

The guard shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his last person. The Doctor smiled at Clara before looking to the man with his clipboard. "I'm the Doctor."

Quickly looking up, the man's eyes were wide and he smiled. Fishing out his radio, he switched a few settings and phoned in. "Professor Yana, there's a man here. Says he's a Doctor."

There was a small fuzz sound on the radio before a voice came through. "A Doctor of what?" A male voice asked a bit irritated.

When the guard looked up, the Doctor shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Of everything."

Hitting the in call button again, the guard spoke into the radio. "A Doctor of everything he says Professor."

More fuzz before the mans voice came in, sounding much more joyful this time. "Send him down, please, quickly!"

The radio was put away as the man began to lead them down the halls. The Doctor stopped just outside the door the guard told them to go into. "I heard there's one more search going on outside. A favor if you will. A few ways north of here there's a blue police box. I need it brought here immediately." With that, the Doctor opened the door and shuffled into the room. Wires hung from every corner and computer screens were turned on with something different on each. Eyeing an elderly man messing with some fuse, the Doctor strode over happily and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. You must be Professor Yana."

The elderly man stood up quickly and took his extended hand with a bright smile. "Yes, yes I am. So good to have you here Doctor…I'm sorry, it was Doctor what now?" He asked as he let go of the mans hand.

"Just the Doctor. Now, what seems to be the problem here?" The Doctor asked as he took out his brainy specks and began looking at the computer screen the Professor was formally looking at. "Oh, I see. It's a spaceship. Can't get it to work." He mumbled to himself.

Clara stepped around to stand behind the Doctor and look at the screen. Surely enough there was the outline for the spaceship with a few red marks indicating the parts that weren't functioning as they should to get them up in the air. Introducing herself to the Professor, Clara shook his hand before asking a question. "A spaceship to where exactly?" Clara asked, folding her arms and looking to Professor Yana.

The Professor walked around a few tables and pulled out an old poster. "To Utopia."

It took all she had not to laugh as Clara took the poster from his hands. It was a poster with the words Utopia written in a large font. A lot of the poster was now torn up and the words unreadable. She looked to the old Professor and handed the poster back. "Utopia? Really?"

He smiled genuinely and nodded his head, looking down to the floor. "I know what you're thinking. There's no such place as Utopia. And you would more or less be right. But I have to keep the hope of the people here alive." He looked over to the Doctor and furrowed his brows. "What are you doing there Doctor?" Professor Yana asked.

The Doctor was frantically typing away on the keyboard, changing some of the functions on the ship. Each of the red areas were beginning to turn green as the Doctor smiled and looked up at Professor Yana. "Just making a few changes." He laughed and pushed away from the computer, starting to look at the wires.

A knock on the door sounded loudly, followed by it opening and a few guards walking in, pulling at a trolley holding the TARDIS. "We found it sir."

"Ah! Thank you very much sir." He left the wires as they set the blue box down in an empty space. He hugged it with a sigh and then turned to Jack. "Alright, you've already got the vortex manipulator. But you need a trace in order for it to really work. Whatever you used to find me I may be able to take apart and use it for this ship." He held out his hand expectantly.

With a smile, Jack backed up a bit and took off his backpack. "Well, not necessarily Doctor. You're a hard man to find. Especially when you don't want to be found. I had to use something a little more…personal." Jack took out a jar containing a severed hand filled with a liquid. "Had to keep it fresh."

Martha stood next to Jack and eyes the jar. "Personal…is that his hand?!" She asked.

The Doctor nodded and looked at Jack once more in disapproval. "That's just weird." He waved with his hand and smiled. "He used it to track me down. Traveling through time and space until he finally found me. Having a part of me is beneficial. You're not keeping it." He said seriously.

Martha looked from the hand to the Doctor, knowing he had both of his own hands. "And why were you tracking him?" She asked, looking to Jack.

"Because, right after the whole Dalek issue, I was left stranded. Do you know how unfair that was to me Doc?!" Jack half yelled.

"It's Doctor, not Doc. Anyways, I had things going on. Couldn't think about you at the moment." The Doctor defended himself.

"Doctor." Clara suddenly said, pulling at his sleeve and pointing to Professor Yana who had bowed his head into his hands and sat down on the nearest seat.

Rushing over to his side, the Doctor kneeled down in front of him. "Professor, are you alright?"

It took a moment for him to answer, seeming to not have heard the Doctor until he repeated himself for the third time. Shaking his head and lowering his hands, Professor Yana sighed and nodded. "Yes, I'm alright. It's just this…noise in my head. It's always the same." He looked at the Doctor with questioning but familiar eyes. "All this talk of time and space, traveling, your hand in a jar. It just…I don't know."

Clara came to kneel down in front of the Professor as well, taking his hand in her own. "All those stars, you're going to see them Professor." She smiled.

Professor Yana gave a small laugh and shook his head, squeezing Clara's hand comfortingly. "My dear, no. I am old. The only thing I want is to get these people off into the stars as planned." Patting her hand, he looked back to the Doctor. "I've looked at what you are planning Doctor. It all will work, except the engine room. Someone has to go in there, but it's filled with radioactive gases. Anyone goes in there, they'll die. We'd need a miracle."

The Doctor smiled and looked at Jack. "So, we need someone to go into the room who can't die. Don't worry Professor, I've got just the man." He turned to Martha quickly and gave her directions on the computer. Stepping over to Clara, he smiled at her and motioned to the Professor. "Keep an eye on him for me."

Clara nodded and watched as the Doctor and Jack ran out of the room together. Looking back at the Professor, she helped him to a seat by the computer Martha was at and sat next to him. Martha was pulling up the video message screen, waiting for the Doctor to reach the room and pull up his own. His face popped up on the screen and he smiled brightly. Martha then pulled up another window and began reading it off to him. "Alright Doctor, he'll need to do all the switches in order. The first one is already done. Each container has a security number, they all seem to be the same. Its three…eight, five, one." She pulled the screen with him back up just as Jack was taking off his jacket.

Once Jack had completed his task, the Doctor came back to the screen and used his sonic screwdriver to make his broadcast. "Everyone your attention please! Boarding of the ship will commence immediately. Next stop, Utopia!" He shut off the broad cast and looked back to the screen. "You've done it Professor, you and everyone are going to see the stars!"

Professor Yana stood up from the chair and looked at the TARDIS for a while. Clara kept her eye on him, though he seemed to be calm at the moment, no random head pain. The Professor reached into his pocket, twirling something in his fingers as he turned slowly to face Clara and Martha.

Clara tapped Martha on the shoulders just as the video screen went off. "Martha. The Professor, he seems to be in some deep thought. He's crying."

Looking over at him, Martha eyed what he had in his hand as he spoke and got up from her seat. He looked up at her, a tear threatening to spill over. "What he talks about. Time and space. The stars. It's amazing." He spoke softly and continued to twirl the item in his hand.

Martha stood in front of him and looked down at his hands. He held what looked like a pocket watch. "May I?" She asked a bit cautiously. When he nodded, declaring it never worked anyways and never opened, Martha took it from him, the back of the watch facing her. She took a deep breath and flipped it over. It was just like the one the Doctor had shown her before. She jumped a bit and handed it back quickly to the Professor. "Um, right then. I'll be right back. Clara, I have to get the Doctor. Just, stay here." With that she ran out of the room.

Looking from the door back to Professor Yana, Clara began to feel a bit uncomfortable as he eyes the watch as if seeing it for the first time. She had surely never seen that pattern on the front. At least she didn't think so. The more she thought about it, the more it started to look familiar. The more she thought about it, the more her head began to hurt.

Professor Yana mumbled to himself as he caressed the watch. His fingers slowly trailed over it to the latch. He pressed it in, and the cover flew open. As the gold light emanated from the watch, pouring into his eyes, Clara felt her head burn and shut her eyes tight, screaming as he cradled her head in her hands. Once all the light had made its way into the Professors eyes, he shut the watch and looked around. Looking at Clara then the TARDIS, he began pulling at the wires and turning the switches.

Opening her eyes, Clara stood slowly, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Noticing what the elderly man was doing, she rushed over to him as steadily as she could and pulled at his arm. "What are you doing?! You'll let those things in!" Just as he pulled on a last wire, the alarm system sounded, the shields down and the ship taking off. "Professor Yana stop!" She pleaded.

Looking at her with rage, he slapped her hard with his free arm and yanked another wire down, pointing its electrifying end at her. "Pathetic those humans are. Utopia, they'll all die out there. There is no Utopia. Just as much as there is no Professor Yana." He held the end of it closer to her neck as she backed away slightly, supporting herself on her arms. "Poor Professor Yana, wanting nothing more then to care for the people he practically grew up with. No, its all a lie. A lie so good that even I forgot who I really was." He started laughing.

Breathing heavily, Clara looked around and saw another wire laying on the ground, it's end sparking with energy. Looking back at the man currently more or less about to kill her. She started to crawl backwards, getting away from him slightly but he followed her tauntingly. "Who are you really then?" She asked, nearing the wire a bit more.

His smile faded as he looked down at her. "I am…the Master." He told her, jabbing the wire at her.

Clara quickly rolled out of the way and grabbed onto the other wire, stabbing it at the Master. It hit him in his chest, but it didn't stop him for long. He smacked the wire out of her hand and pulled her up from the ground. Wrapping his arm around her waist, the Master pulled her toward the TARDIS, grabbing the severed hand jar on the way. He hardly budged as she kicked and pushed at him.

The door to the room opened just as the Master reached the TARDIS doors. The Doctor ran in with Martha and Jack, the Doctor stopping in his tracks when he saw Clara and the Master. They looked at each other for a moment, knowing in that second the Master remembered who he was. Clara looked up at the Doctor, still pushing against the man who held her captive. "Doctor!" She screamed.

The Doctor took quick steps, but the Master was quicker and pushed through into the TARDIS, tossing Clara in and locking the door. The Doctor banged on the door frantically. "No! Please I'm begging you! Everything's changed we're the only ones left! Please! Let me in!" He yelled, trying his key to get in, but it was no use.

Jack and Martha tried all they could to close the door as the creatures were trying to enter now that the shields were down.

Clara ran to the door, trying to turn the lock, but it wouldn't budge. She banged on the door frantically. "Doctor! Let me out!" She continued to pull at the door but it wouldn't open. Turning to the Master, she watched as he leaned on the console, laughing slightly. He looked at her as his hands and face slowly started to glow before his whole body burst into the bright golden light. Clara ducked down and shielded herself from the light shooting out of him.

The Master screamed slightly and suddenly stopped, the light going away. Clara looked up at him, but he wasn't the elderly man she had seen just moments before. No this was a much younger man with dirty blonde hair. He looked at his hands and felt his face for a moment before laughing. He pushed on a button to use the speaker and turned to the doors. "Now then, Doctor! Oh, new voice! Hello, hello, hello! Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me. I've got your TARDIS and I've got your girl."

Martha looked up from her struggle on the door and looked at the TARDIS. "I know that voice." She said but no one heard her.

Taking a few steps back, the Doctor looked up at his TARDIS. "I'm asking you really properly, please just stop! Just think!"

Clara stood by the door, eyeing the Master and still trying to open the door. Smiling slightly, the Master looked from her to the TARDIS. "Use my name." He said to the Doctor.

Taking a moment, the Doctor stood staring at the TARDIS, hearing the taps on it as Clara was still trying to get out. "Master." He finally said. "I'm sorry."

"Tough!" The Master yelled as he hit the switch and began winding the TARDIS for flight.

Clara continued to bang on the door. "Doctor!" She grabbed onto the railing as the TARDIS gave an unusual jolt. "Doctor, please get me out of here!"

"Oh no you don't!" The Master yelled, hitting another switch and getting the TARDIS to begin its descend. "End of the universe! Have fun! Bye-bye!" He slapped the button once more to turn off the loud speaker.

Clara stopped banging on the door when she realized they were no longer where the Doctor was. He couldn't be dead. There's no way. She knew a future him. Or maybe she failed to save him this time. Clara hadn't realized she'd been crying as she sniffed and turned to face the Master. She kept her back flat against the doors, terrified of being in the same place with this mad man.

As if remembering she was there, the Master turned to face her and smiled. "Oh, don't you worry dear Clara. He's not dead. No, the Doctor wouldn't be. I know him to well." He hit another switch and walked over to her casually. He stroked her cheek softly, wiping away the tears that continue to fall. Clara turned her face away from him, making him smile and now grab her face to force her to look at him. "I can see it in your eyes. You know me. A past me. You know I'm just like the Doctor, at least in the same race sense. You fear me. As you should. But, oh Clara…what fun we are going to have." The Master smiled.


	4. Trapped

Clara brought her legs up, hugging them to her chest as she sat on the floor in the corner. She was alone in what was her room here at…well she didn't really know. All she knew is the TARDIS had landed here and the Master tossed her in this room, locking her in. Occasionally he would come in with food and water for her. He'd boast about his plans to her and how he couldn't wait for the Doctor to arrive and see. Then he'd leave the room again, the lock clicking into place.

There were times she would hear the TARDIS crying— or what she thought was crying. She preferred to call it crying rather than screaming in agony. It was always accompanied by the sound of something being torn apart and metal banging. The Master was doing something to the ship. As much as Clara and the ship didn't get along, they were in the same boat at the moment and all she wanted to do was help the TARDIS. Stop her agony and pain, for them both to get back to the Doctor. But that wasn't going to happen. Not while Clara was locked up in this room like some kind of animal, only being fed twice a day if lucky. Sometimes she swears the Master forgets she's even here while he's doing whatever it is to the ship.

Digging her nail into the wooden floor, Clara began to cross out the tally marks she had been making. "Another day." She mumbled, swallowing hard. The Master had given her stale bread this morning with nothing to drink. He hadn't been back since and she knew he had forgotten. She used the sink water in the connected bathroom to calm her thirst, but it wasn't exactly clean water. So a few sips was all it was good for to keep her mouth somewhat not dry.

Clara had sat in this corner in the same position she always did since the Master had thrown her in here. Which, Clara lost count of how long it's been, she recently started the tally marks. She slept in this corner on the floor as well, refusing to use any comforts the Master tried to provide her with, except the shower. There were few times when she had no choice but to sleep on the bed when the Master was so tired after working days on end with no sleep. He'd simply hold her while he slept. It was the weirdest thing but after a while Clara figured it was because he was so alone.

The first time he demanded she sleep in the bed with him wasn't an easy night. She wanted nothing to do with him, had been denying to even eat the food he brought. Natural instinct, Clara fought with him. She learned quickly he didn't take kindly to being hit in the face because he hit her back. Clara was sure he had given her a black eye but refused to look in the mirror to see if it was true or not. When she had finally lost the battle, the Master simply covered them both with the blanket and wrapped his arm around her waist. Within seconds he was asleep. He was not foolish enough to leave the door unlocked however, and Clara could never really move even an inch without waking him. The man was bat shit crazy and so paranoid he never slept for more than four hours before getting back up and leaving the room.

Sometimes they wouldn't sleep at all. He would just lay with her and talk. Often he spoke about the never ending drums in his head. How they have haunted him since he was a child. Clara never offered a response, simply added on to his list of craziness in her head. But the drums was a story that kept reoccurring. Sometimes she'd even catch him tapping the beat on the wall or against the door. It annoyed her just hearing him tap it nonstop for hours on end. The Master always heard it.

It's no wonder he's crazy.

To the sound of the door being unlocked, Clara retreated her hand from its assault on the floor panel and wrapped itself around her knees again. She stared at the door for a moment, always hopeful it would be the Doctor instead, but like always it never was. But it wasn't the Master either. A man dressed in a suit came in holding a long, blue, sparkling dress. He walked over and placed the dress onto the bed before looking at Clara with a blank face. "Mr. Saxon requires you to dress immediately."

To Clara's knowledge, the man didn't find it the least bit odd that a woman, a very short one at that, was locked up in this room, cowering in a corner. No, instead he brought the dress in and gave his message like the good delivery dog he is. Clara watched then as the man walked out of the room. She knew who Mr. Saxon was. The false profit name the Master had chosen for his campaign run to rule over. Harold Saxon. She clearly remembers him asking her to help him pick out a name. Basically he kept talking on while she sat in her corner and stared off into space.

Standing up slowly, Clara looked at the dress. It was a beautiful dress obviously to be worn for a special occasion. Well, she could care less of any occasion that seemed important to this man. Sitting back down, Clara decided she was going to give him a hard time whether he liked it or not. He could hit her all he wanted. It wasn't as if he already didn't. The man had no strength boundaries when it came to females. Clara continued her assault on the floor panel just as the door opened once more, the Master walking inside and shutting it quickly. "You wouldn't believe what I have just accomplished!" He stopped to look at Clara and then looked at the blue dress that lay on the bed. With a sigh, he leaned on the door and crossed his arms. "What is this? A rebellion?" He laughed.

Clara didn't answer at first. She stood up though, not wanting to seem vulnerable while cowering in the corner. She crossed arms over chest and, not really leaning against the wall rather than wishing she could melt into it. "Why do I have to wear it?" She asked, her voice raspy. She swallowed again, trying to clear up her throat a bit.

With a small frown, the Master left the room and returned quickly with a glass of water. He strode over and held out the glass to her. She took it without argument and downed half the cup in one swig. He walked over to the bed, picking up the dress carefully and holding it out to get a good look at it. "I picked out a good one." He smiled, walking back over to Clara and holding it out to her. "Dress." The Master demanded.  
"Why?" She questioned, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand after finishing the rest of the water.

"If you must know," the Master said as he draped the dress over his forearm, "I just won the election. And in half an hour I have to go and give my speech in which you will be by my side. Have to make a good impression for when the Doctor watches the live broadcast." He smirked at her as Clara's face lit up with surprise.

So it was finally time. The Doctor had arrived in their timeline to come save her and put a stop to this madman's plans. But he'd need his TARDIS back and if it was kept here, he'd never reach it. Not if the Master, or rather Harold Saxon was now prime minister of England. There would be security everywhere, so much that even the Doctor would have a hard time. But she wasn't about to let the Master have his shinning glory. Clara was strong and smart, and was probably about to make the stupidest decision of her life. Try and escape. She'd been waiting for a moment like this; the one moment when the Master would let his guard down. And as far as she was concerned, when the Master came back in from getting her a glass of water, he did not lock the door.

Clara didn't give the Master time to read her face and know what she was up to. She hardly gave herself time to think about how stupid this idea was. Instead she followed through with it. Grasping the glass cup hard in her hand, Clara quickly swung her arm up, breaking the glass right onto the Master's head. The cup shattered and pieces of glass sliced through her hand, but she didn't let it faze her. In the brief seconds the Master was in his daze, reaching his hand up to cradle his bleeding injury, Clara darted for the door, swinging it open and rushing out. She closed it behind her regardless of not having the key and ran as fast as she could down the hall.

Having never set foot outside that room, she didn't know where to go. But the floors out here were shiny and marble, nothing like that of her prison room. Either way, she ran as fast as she could. Down a flight of stairs and through a few doors. Some people around looked at her in confusion, having never seen her before. A few security guards looked at her with caution. A loud speaker sounded, and a very angry voice rang throughout the whole building. "Get her back." The Master demanded.

It was as if the command had been spoken in their heads because now every security guard was looking at her with new found interest. They all knew it was her that the Master was speaking about, despite the fact that she had never seen any of them. Darting for another door, Clara ran down more stairs and down a long narrow hallway. Suddenly she heard a small groaning sound. The TARDIS. It was calling to her. Following the sounds as fast as she could, Clara ducked around walls to hide from passing security. She made her way into what seemed like the basement and ran as fast as she could.

"There she is. She hurt the Master." A light voice said.

Clara turned around quickly but there was no one there. Suddenly a metal ball floated its way from the ceiling down toward her. Then another, but this one spiked some sharp knives from its body. Shocked, Clara turned away and started running further into the basement. They followed quickly behind her, laughing eerily as they did. She thought quickly not to be that female that falls and then gets sliced to bits by these robots. Turning another corner, she smiled for the first time in a long time. Running as fast as she could, Clara burst through the TARDIS doors, slamming them shut behind her and locking it.

Turning to look at the TARDIS she automatically knew something was wrong. Wires hung from everywhere, a shielding around the controls and the lights all shined red. Carefully, Clara walked up to the cylinder concealing the controls and hesitantly put a hand on it. When the TARDIS seemed to groan she quickly took her hand off and walked around it, trying to see if there was an opening to free the ship of her prison. But she searched to no avail which means she couldn't get the TARDIS to fly.

Clara felt a pair of arms grab her quickly around her waist and pull her off her feet. The Master was livid, and was not even trying to be gentle in any sense of the manner. He completely ignored her while she kicked and screamed as he carried her out of the TARDIS. He held onto her with one arm with a bit of a struggle as he closed the doors with his free hand. Clara practically clawed at his hand holding her and managed to get free for a fraction of a second. His hands were pulling her back the second she took a step.

The Master shoved her against the wall, her back pressed to it roughly. He left no personal space between them as one hand rested against the wall and the other grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. "Listen here human filth! I can't do anything right now because I need that pretty face of yours to stay that way for the cameras, but you just wait until they all turn off." He hissed, moving in to whisper in her ear. "If you want your precious Doctor to know you are alive and he still has a reason to come and try to save you, I suggest you do as I say." He shoved himself away from her and fixed his suit as those metal robots hovered above his shoulder.

Breathing heavily, Clara looked to the ground for a while before looking at the Master. "What are those things?" She asked, noticing her voice was a bit shaken.

The Master looked up at the metal robots while he fixed his tie and smiled. "They are the Toclafane. That's all you need to know for now." He frowned again, his usual angry mood coming back in full. He moved over to Clara, roughly picking her up over his shoulder and heading back up the stairs.

Beaten, Clara only felt humiliated as the Master handled her as if she was his pet. She tried to push off of him a few times, but gave up when it proved her height and strength were simply a fault at the moment. He brought her all the way back up to the room which Clara learned was a long way from anything in this building. Once inside, and he made sure to lock the door, he put her down softly next to the bed where the dress lay. She looked up at him to find he was looking at her softly, his anger having faded. Quickly looking away, Clara unconsciously brought her arms up to hug herself and took a few steps away from the Master.

He cleared his throat and pointed to the dress on the bed, then picked it up with care. He spent a lot of money on it. Not that he cared about money. But it bothered him that he cared if the human female he was going to put it on liked it. If she didn't like it then it was just another human piece of clothing that didn't need to be in his hands. Shaking his head slightly he went over to Clara and handed her the dress. "Put it on." He said flatly before leaving to clean up the blood from his already healed cut. The Master stepped into the adjoined bathroom and closed the door.

Looking at the dress in her hands Clara sighed before starting to change into it. It wasn't a surprise that it fit her just right. The Master had often gone out to get her a new pair of clothes whenever he got tired of seeing her in whatever she had on. Most times he left her in a sun dress. Sometimes she'd be lucky to have pants, a shirt, and button sweater seeing how this room did often get really cold. Clara's hair fell over her shoulder as she pulled the straps of the dress up and cursed slightly when she realized it had to be zipped from the back.

The Master came out of the bathroom wiping his face with a towel as he looked over at Clara with a smile. "There now that's better." He said cheerily. Soon he'd be in front of the cameras announcing his victory and he needed a pretty lady at his side. The Doctor needed a motivation and what better way than to use Clara as if everything was okay. Make the Doctor think he's corrupted her. Then the precious Doctor will try to come and save her. Make her see the light of his ways. It would be perfect. She was the set for his trap.

Looking down at the floor, Clara cleared her throat slightly and pointed to her back. "Could you…please."

Walking over slowly, the Master grabbed onto her shoulders softly and turned her around. He ran his hands over her bare back slowly, relishing in the feel of another person tenderly. Something he wasn't used to and clearly never got enough of. He felt her shiver slightly under his touch, her breath caught, and clearly uncomfortable. Grabbing the zipper, he pulled it but made sure the top was fastened before moving away from her and heading to the door. "Come on. No trying anything. Or I can promise you you'll regret it." The acid in his voice was enough to make Clara nod and comply.

Leading her down toward the main stairwell, there were already loud murmurs coming from below. The Master grabbed her hand, which she quickly pulled away from him. One look from him made her breathe deeply and accept the next time he took her hand. He cleared his throat slightly and led her out into the open. Immediately they were showered in flashes, the murmurs now shouting chants and callings of his name. They walked to the bottom of the step where he started giving his speech. Clara however didn't hear any of it.

As he spoke on, she searched the room, hopeful she might see his face. But all these people were strangers to her. She felt her eyes watering and fought to keep the tears from spilling over. The questions had started and one reporter had finally asked who the lady in blue was to which the Master answered she was his wife. Clara looked at him now, her brows knitted tight together in confusion, shock, and disbelief. He smiled at her a threatening smile that only she could see. She forced a smile onto her face and looked away from him, down to the floor to fake a shy motion.

The crowd awed and cheered. To Clara's horror they began chanting for a kiss. To show the happy couple that would rule over England in the morning's newspaper. The last thing Clara wanted to do was kiss this mad man. Never the less in front of these cameras that were broadcasting live. The Doctor was watching. That's when she caught on to his plan. She could ruin everything right here right now. But where would that get her? Locked back in that room and possibly millions of people killed. Now she had that fear he'd get a small taste and want more. She was already in trouble as it was. He could think of newer things than just giving her a black eye.

Despite all of this running through her mind, she turned to face the Master anyways. His hand snaked its way to press her lower back, pulling her against him. The Master knew this would make the Doctor angrier than anything. The man's mind would race, wondering what he's been doing to her. Despite the fact that the Master had never laid a finger on her in that manner. Giving off the impression that he did was good enough for him. And maybe he would. He cupped her chin with his other hand and leaned down to place his lips tenderly onto her own.

Through her closed lids, Clara could still see the flash of all the cameras. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she placed them on the Master's chest, balling her hands into fist in hopes of showing her discomfort to the Doctor if he was indeed watching. The Master let her go, a smirk on his face which told Clara all she needed to know. He enjoyed that in every way. Together they faced back to the crowd as he began speaking again. "Yes, I'd go as far to say what this country really needs…is a doctor." He smiled into the camera, quickly giving his thanks afterwards and leading Clara away from the press. Once they were out of sight, he grabbed hold of her upper arm and quickened his pace back up to her holding room. "I've got all these stupid board meetings to go to in about twenty minutes."

Once back in the room, he let go of her arm and locked the door behind him. The Master wasted no time in pulling her back to him, crashing his lips onto hers once more. With all the strength she could muster up, Clara pushed the Master away and looked at him with shock and fear. "What are you doing?" She asked and took a few steps back.

The Master smiled and licked his lips. "Come on now. Can't say you haven't craved anything. You've spent quite some time in here. I've gone far longer." He took a few steps closer to her, taking off his blazer and tossing it to the side. "You can only assume the drums normally kill any joyful mood in my life. Always there. Beating. One two three four, one two three four. But that kiss…they silenced for a moment. A split moment, but it was enough for me to crave more."

Clara quickly shook her head, tears already swelling up in her eyes once more. "No, I haven't craved anything. And I would never feel anything of the such towards you." She spat out the words with full hate. Maybe she could stop him with just her words. Or at least buy herself time with talking. That was something she had learned well from the Doctor. Talking always stalled.

Shrugging, the Master started to loosen his tie next. "I never said you had to like me." He drew in closer.

Clara swallowed; she could feel her hands shaking in fear as she brought them up to cover herself. Her back hit the door of the bathroom she quickly opened and went into, slamming the door and locking it just as the Master hit it. He banged on the door with anger and obviously more power than was really possible. She pressed her back against it, the tears now freely flowing from her face as she tried everything she could to push against the power of what must have been his shoulder impacting with it. One she was positive was his foot, seeing how it actually pushed her off of the door and she slammed herself against it again quickly.

The Master noticed the door pushed in a bit more when he kicked at it, so he proceeded to do so. He heard Clara's open crying at this point. If she was pushing against the door, then this must be hurting her. Through his frustration however, he kept kicking at it. "Open this door!" He yelled as he kicked at it again.

Clara kept one hand on the knob and the other against the wall to try and keep herself steady after each blow. She was surely going to have a bruise to show for, but she'd have a lot more if he managed to get into the room. "Please! Stop!" She yelled back. How did she manage to get herself in this mess? Was this really the path she had to go down in order to save the Doctor? Time was not on her side as it felt like forever that the Master had been trying to get in but no one seemed to be trying to get their new prime minister to the meetings.

To her horror, Clara heard the lock give a loud click, indicating without a doubt it had just been broken. It was going to be her strength alone now against his, a battle she knew all too well she was going to lose. Working on adrenaline however, she was somehow managing to hold him off as he switched from kicking to shouldering the door again. Finally with one final push, the Master managed push her off her feet long enough to push the door the rest of the way open. He wrapped his arm around her waist and yanked her out of the bathroom back toward the bed. Pushing the smaller girl against the wall with her back to him, he pulled down the zipper of her dress before pushing her onto the bed.

Not willing to give up, Clara pushed and punched at him as he climbed on top of her. He wrestled with her arms for a bit, finally managing to pin them above her head with one hand while the other began its assault, pushing the straps of her dress off her shoulders. The Master pressed their lips together again, forcing his tongue into her mouth which she retaliated by biting. The Master pulled back with anger but a smile on his face. His free hand quickly rose up and slapped her hard across the face.

There was a knock on the door and the Master sighed audibly. Looking down at Clara, he licked his lips before getting off of her and doing his tie up once more. He grabbed his blazer and left without another word, locking the door behind him. Clara stood on the bed, breathing heavily and trying to calm her sobs. Sitting up slowly, Clara looked to her former discarded clothes. She was glad they were jeans, a shirt, and a jacket. Standing up, Clara quickly switched her clothes and went back to her corner.

Clara didn't know exactly where she was which scared her beyond belief. All she knew was she was trapped in this room with a mad man that had the only key to it. How much longer will it be? How much longer will it take for the Doctor to find her; Clara needed his saving. So what exactly was she going to save him from? The Master? Not likely. She hardly managed to save herself from her last two recent attempts at fighting him off. The last one almost ended tragically. But he would be back after his conferences. What then? The lock to the bathroom was broken. The room wasn't that big. There was no window, nothing she could use as a weapon.

What was she going to save the Doctor from?


	5. Punishment

The Master didn't come back that night. Nor the night after. Apparently he was busy. So one of his security guards normally came into the room with food and drinks. Every two days they'd bring a change of clothes for her. Whenever it was a dress however, Clara would leave it tossed onto the floor next to the door to be picked up. A few more dresses would be brought to her before a pair of jeans and a shirt made itself present. Today was no different. It was a meal and clothes day. Clara was always awake before the breakfast tray made its way to her room.

Tossing the blanket and pillow back on the bed from where she lay on the floor, Clara stretched her arms and legs before standing up and heading into the bathroom. Once she was done, she sat back in her corner and started scratching another line on the floor. The sound of the door unlocking was nothing new to her so she continued scratching the tally mark onto the wooden panel. The door closed and the tray was set right in front of her. Clara looked up and was shocked to see a woman standing there. The woman wore a maid's outfit and looked just as unhappy as Clara.

The woman then placed the new outfit onto the bed and smiled. "You really should eat. I'm told I have to show Mr. Saxon the plate once you're done." She sounded tired as she sat on the bed to fix the outfit.

Clara grabbed a slice of toast and stood up, going over to sit next to the woman on the bed. "I've never seen you here before. What is your name?" She asked, nibbling on her toast. Clara wasn't ever really hungry nowadays as it was. Eating too much just made her sick.

The woman smiled up at Clara. "You can call me Ms. Jones. I'll be taking care of you from now on."

Clara stopped eating the bread, letting it drop from her hands without a care. She reached over and grabbed onto Ms. Jones hands, feeling hopeful. Eagerly, Clara searched the woman's face who looked at Clara in confusion. Smiling, Clara felt a small sense of hope springing inside her. "Ms. Jones. You're Martha Jones mother aren't you?"

Ms. Jones looked at Clara in shock now. This poor woman who was locked up in this room knew her daughter. Whom last she saw, she yelled at her to drive away quickly. Ms. Jones only hoped that Martha and the Doctor managed to get away. Nodding, Ms. Jones wiped away the tears that were spilling from her eyes. "Yes I am. Captured by that monster Saxon. My whole family is here. Except Martha and my son who has managed to evade Saxon's henchmen."

Quickly, Clara pulled Ms. Jones into a hug. This was what she had been waiting for. A hopeful sign that soon all this would end. "Martha, she is still with the Doctor then?" Clara asked as she let go of the sobbing woman.

"Oh yes. I only hope he is keeping her safe." Ms. Jones answered. She stood up quickly along with Clara when they heard the door being unlocked. When the Master walked in with a slight frown on his face, Ms. Jones looked to the floor so he wouldn't see her hateful features. "She only just received her breakfast sir."

The Master waved his hand slightly, another man entered the room behind him with a television on a stand; he set to work immediately. The Master ran a hand through his hair and snapped his fingers toward Ms. Jones. "Out." He left for the bathroom after he gave his command.

Ms. Jones nodded to Clara and picked up the slice of bread that had fallen to the floor. "I'll be back later to collect the tray." She squeezed her hand slightly before leaving the room.

Finishing his work, the man handed Clara the television remote before leaving the room, the door locking as he left. Just as he left, the Master emerged from the bathroom, his face dripping with water. He shrugged off his blazer and quickly undid his tie, tossing both carelessly onto the floor. He didn't look at Clara as he moved over to the television, turning it on and then moving to sit on the bed, pressing his back against the wall and kicking off his shoes. The Master carefully moved Clara's new outfit to the side and swung his feet onto the bed and grabbing the remote control that had been discarded on the sheets.

Clara had already retreated back to her corner, playing with the food on the tray. She heard the channels changing, most of them hung around for a while. The news, all of them saying the same thing. Prime Minister Harold Saxon was planning to reveal something.

The Master looked over the edge of the bed from where he sat, eyeing the tray of food and sighed slightly. He hadn't slept in over a week. Its moments like this where he was grateful for his Time Lord blood. They didn't have to sleep like humans did. But a week with working on end was taking its toll and the last thing he wanted to do was fight with the human female. He rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "It would be wise to eat. You'll need your energy for tomorrow."

As much as she didn't want to say anything to him, Clara couldn't help her curiosity. "What's tomorrow?" She pulled the tray closer to her in hopes the Master couldn't see it.

"A big day." He opened his eyes and slowly stood up from the bed. The Master was no idiot. He walked over to Clara and picked up the tray, walking back to set it on the bed. He sat down once again, swinging his legs onto the bed and patting the space next to him, the side closer to the wall. "Come here and eat."

His tone told Clara he wasn't in the mood to deal with her. Which was probably the best time to retaliate, seeing how he probably wouldn't care enough to force her to eat or hit her. But that also could go the other way and he could do exactly what he might be too tired to do. With his crazed mind, the man could go either way. It took her a little too long for his liking; the Master shot her a look that was more of a countdown. Clara got up and walked over to the bed. She already didn't like that she would have to climb over him to get where he wanted her. And she'd be closed in, the Master on one side the wall on the other.

No, Clara was stronger then this. She used logic and fought for her own. She'd been in sticky situations with the Doctor and was not one someone could just rule over. Grabbing the tray, Clara sat at the edge of the bed. It should keep him calm just as much as keep her safe. Two could play at this game. Picking up the other slice of bread, Clara began nibbling on it and turned to watch the television. It was the news, showing a prerecorded broadcast the Master had given.

The Master wasn't watching the television. He was watching Clara. The way her hair fell to her shoulders, her eyes fixed to the television as she took small bites of bread. Breathing deeply, the Master took his eyes off of her and watched the rerun of the broadcast. "I'm going to show the world the Toclafane. Show them that they are not alone in the universe. And then…the Toclafane will rain down from the skies and take over the world with me as their master." He smiled as Clara turned to look at him. "You can rule beside me if you'd like. Instead of being locked up in here. You can join me."

Looking at him as though he were mad, Clara slowly shook her head and placed the bread back onto the plate, picking up the plastic fork. They never gave her sharp utensils or glass cups anymore. The Master made sure of that. She stabbed at some of the eggs which had grown cold already and chewed it slowly. "You're crazy." She said as she picked up her foam cup of water and drank it.

With a laugh, the Master moved forward and took the tray from her lap. "Perhaps. But how would you be honestly, if you went through what I did my whole life?" He picked up the fork and shoveled the food into this mouth, finishing off the breakfast for her before tossing the tray across the room. It's crash made Clara jump a bit, giving the Master his chance to take the cup from her hand and toss it to the side, the remaining water spilling to onto the floor.

Clara didn't move, her anger growing. There was one thing that she cherished here and that was water. She would have rather finished the cup before he tossed it to the side. She balled her hands into fist and rested them on her legs. Looking down at the floor, the water seeping through the lines in the wood. They stood quite for a long moment. Clara turned her attention back to the television but wasn't paying any attention to it. She could feel the Master's eyes on her. Whatever he was thinking as he soaked in her body, Clara didn't care to find out or indulge him in any way to try his fantasies. Which must be sick no doubt.

"I wish to sleep." The Master said, pulling the blanket down and waiting expectantly. With a sigh, Clara got up from where she sat and moved over to lay on her side facing the wall. The Master got in beside her and pulled the blankets over them both. Like usual, he wrapped an arm around her and rested his head onto the pillow. "If I know the Doctor well enough, he'll be here tomorrow. I have to go and pick up The President of the United States later tonight. You will join me. And then we are moving out of here."

Clara listened as she lay there, feeling her back press into his chest as he pulled her closer to him. "Where are we moving to?" She asked quietly.

The Master smiled, joyful for some sort of conversation with her. "A new place. One like no other. That's all you need to know. It's going to be magnificent." He closed his eyes as his hand moved up to play with her hair. "You'll like it."

It bothered her that he really thought she cared about wherever they were moving so much to the point that she'd like it. As long as it was a place with him she wouldn't like it. But Clara bit her tongue. She was already in a vulnerable position, the Master could do anything. The only thing she wanted him to do right now was sleep. Clara shut her eyes tight when she felt his hand slowly go from playing with her hair to caressing her shoulders and moving inward. The Master trailed his fingers over her collar bone and pushed under her shirt slightly.

He stopped just short of her chest, resting his hand there and feeling her heart beat. That single heartbeat, not like his own double hearts. Retreating his hand, he wrapped it around her midsection and buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder, falling asleep within seconds.

Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Clara opened her eyes and stared at the wall. She'll be stuck like this for the next hour or so. But she refused to go to sleep. Instead, Clara continued to stare at the wall, matching lines to make shapes and trying to connect a path until she couldn't see past the bed. It felt like forever, but must have only been four hours later because the door was opening and the smell of hot food filled the room. It was already lunch time.

Trying as best she could, Clara turned onto her back and tried to pull the Master's arm away from her. The Master woke with a start, clinging onto her a bit painfully. She pulled her hand back from his arm to indicate she wasn't fighting his hold. "It's time to eat." She said when he looked at her. He nodded and let go of her, which she quickly sat up. But he wasn't letting her off the bed.

The Master sat up as well, pressing his back against the wall and waving to Ms. Jones to bring the tray over. She did as she was told, handing it to the Master who then dismissed her with another wave of his hand. Ms. Jones looked at Clara with a small smile before grabbing the discarded tray and leaving. The Master looked over the food, a hot sandwich on a hero, a cup of water, and a side of soup with crackers. All the utensils were plastic along with a foam cup. He looked over to Clara and patted the space next to him.

The smell of the food was stronger than Clara had anticipated. She wasn't used to receiving actual meals besides breakfast. Normally lunch and dinner were a quick prepackaged meal that never tasted any good. But this smelled fresh and made Clara's stomach grumble with pain. Clara could feel her mouth water and hated herself at the moment for considering doing as the Master said and sitting beside him. She looked down at her hands and twirled her fingers together simply to have something to do.

Placing the tray next to him, the Master moved instead to sit next to Clara, pulling the tray back onto his lap. He opened the pack of crackers and broke them into the soup, stirring it and then picking it up to get a spoon full and blow it. The steam rose back up after every blow, but when he was sure the soup in the spoon was cool enough he held it out to Clara. She looked at him, her brows slightly furrowed as she went to take the spoon but the Master pulled his arm back and shook his head.

Great, if she wanted to eat then she'd really have to act like a good little pet. All in all this was the one thing Clara probably managed to bring upon herself by never actually eating the meals that were brought to her. With tomorrow being a big day and all, the Master surely didn't want her looking sick, or worse, actually being sick and fainting from lack of energy due to lack of meals. Then again, maybe that would be a good thing. Ruin his grand image. Harold Saxon would be the man who abuses and starves his so called wife. Image ruined.

When the Master moved the spoon closer to her lips, Clara turned her head away from it. The Master tried again, but Clara was refusing to take anything from him. With a sigh the Master placed the tray down on the far end of the bed and folded his hands to keep calm. "You know I remember at the academy, the meals they used to give us sometimes weren't up to our standards. Mine and the Doctor's that is." He put the spoon back into the soup and stirred it. "But we didn't really have much of a choice. The academy was a very strict place and at times they made sure to remind you who was in charge. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way Clara. It's your choice."

"I can feed myself." She said sharply.

With a laugh the Master nodded as his fingers began tapping his usual four beats. "If I leave it to you, it'll be another breakfast situation. A few small bites and the food gets cold. I don't think so."

"I can feed myself." Clara said again.

Not giving himself a chance to think, the Master moved from his spot and suddenly had Clara pinned against the bed on her back. He held her wrist tightly as her legs kicked to try and get him away. He sat on top of her, letting her wrist go to reach for the tray. Scooping another spoonful of the soup, he kept it out of her reach in case she hit it as her hands pounded on his chest. With his free hand he pinched her nose to keep her from breathing. It didn't take long for her to gasp, giving him the chance to shove the spoon in her mouth and toss it back into the soup cup. He covered her mouth tightly and didn't let go until he knew she had swallowed it.

Clara glared up at him as he smiled and laughed, her eyes burned with fresh tears and her legs stopped their kicking. When he removed his hand, she took a shaky breath and let out a small sob. He was rather heavy sitting on her much smaller and fragile frame. "Alright, I'll do it the easy way." She said softly.

The Master licked his lips with another laugh. He grabbed the spoon again and held it to her lips. She slowly opened her mouth and let the Master feed her the soup. Putting the spoon back, the Master leaned down to lick her lips slowly, tasting the soup. He let out a low hum as he ran his tongue down to her jaw line eventually reaching her neck. His hands had begun to snake their way under her shirt, pushing further up until they reached their destination.

Clara bit her lip as tears freely streamed from her eyes. She felt his weight lift off of her, only to feel his lower half settling between her legs. The Master reached down to undo her pants, but was stopped short by her aggressive retaliation. Clara pushed at his chest and had managed to land a good punch on his face. Hissing in pain, the Master leaned back giving Clara a chance to scoot away from him, getting far enough to kick him in the groin. The Master doubled over onto the bed, his hands reaching down to his aching manhood.

Knocking the tray over by accident, Clara moved off the bed as the soup spilled all over the floor. The door swung open, Ms. Jones rushing in with a few security guards. Ms. Jones quickly started cleaning up the mess as the two security guards rushed over to their Prime Minister. The Master pushed them away as he climbed off the bed, his face absolutely full of anger. "Grab her." He ordered.

The two security guards each took hold of Clara's arms and held on tightly. The Master quickly brought the back of his hand across her face before looking down at the mess. He looked to Ms. Jones and yelled at her to hurry up and clean. "She still needs to eat. Make another lunch tray. But this time bring it downstairs." He looked to the two guards holding onto Clara. "Follow me."

Follow they did as the Master led them all the way to the basement. Past the TARDIS they went, coming to a small outlining on the ground. The Master reached down and opened the door to a small cellar and moved out the way as the guards tossed Clara into it and shut the door. There was no light. It was pitch black to Clara's horror. She felt around, coming in contact with the hard cold wall whichever way she turned. "No, no, no." She whispered into the darkness. Her eyes couldn't even adjust to see something, no light shined through the only door above her. "Please! Let me out of here! I-I don't know where I am." She banged on all four walls, yelling constantly for someone to let her out.

Kneeling on her knees, Clara leaned forward onto the floor, her arms shielding her head as she openly cried. "Please…Doctor, help me." She sobbed into the darkness.


	6. The President, The Master, and The Doctor

"I'm sorry Mister President, my wife has fallen a bit ill. She couldn't make it out to meet you tonight but she will be joining us tomorrow morning." The Master said as he shook the President of the United States hand. He smiled eerily, but the president kept a sour face and frowned.

"Prime Minister Saxon, you failed to keep protocol within the United Nations in the event of extraterrestrial contact." He looked at the Master in pure disgust and anger. "You are in direct violation and stand charges to be removed from office immediately unless you keep your mouth shut and do as I say." He spoke strong and confident but grew angry when the Master made a small gesture as if zipping his lips.

The Master kept his smirk on as the president announced his anger at the mock. Making the same motion to unzip his lips, the Master took a breath and smiled. "Mister President, I never really read over the documents when I was elected into office. Too many papers and frankly…I don't care to read all of that. So what exactly are you suggesting?" He asked sarcastically.

The president didn't catch on to the sarcastic tone of the Prime Minister. "I will speak to the nation in your place to try and contact this race you call Toclafane." When the Master gave him a salute, the president rolled his eyes and followed his security to a vehicle. "I am growing tired of your games Prime Minister Saxon. See this as your last event as the elected official in the United Kingdom." He got into his vehicle without another look at the Master and shut the door with force.

As the Presidents vehicle was pulling away, a security truck was pulling up. The Master looked on as the back of the truck was opened to reveal Martha's family. He smiled and cheered with much sarcasm as the family tried to fight against the security guards. "Don't worry we're moving to a new home!" He laughed. He waved his hand and the guards transferred them to a more secure vehicle before driving off. The Master looked around, having a funny feeling he was missing something. It was as if it was obvious but he felt as if he didn't want to know. Laughing to himself, the Master went into his own vehicle and tapped for the driver to take off.

Once back at his current residence, the Master rushed to the basement and straight to the small door on the floor. Unlocking the door, he swung it open and looked down to see Clara sleeping. He rushed back to grab a pot and filled it with cold water. Going back he peered down to see if she had woken, but she hadn't. Quickly, the Master dumped the bucket onto the poor sleeping form below. "Time to get up sweetheart! We're moving." He laughed.

Clara woke with a shock, gasping as the cold water hit her. She looked up at the open latch with a glare before she stood up and squeezed the water out of her hair. The light was hurtful to her eyes but she didn't let it show as she held up her arms for the Master to grab hold of. Reaching down, the Master grabbed hold of her arms, pulling her up and out with no problem. He placed his blazer around her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, which she shrugged off harshly. Clara was tired of his mood swing games.

Smiling despite the clear hate coming from the female, the Master led her out of the basement and up a flight of stairs. He didn't lead her to the same old room this time however. The Master brought her to his room, which was far bigger with floor to ceiling windows and a large bed. The floor was decorated in a brown carpet with matching curtains that kept the sun slightly out of the room.

Keeping by the door as the Master locked it, Clara let her eyes adjust and shrugged the blazer off of her shoulders letting it fall to the floor. She noticed a tray with food on it and a cup of water like the usual ones she'd be brought up and wondered if it was for her. Clara was far more then hungry and thirsty; not really care at the moment if that tray was meant for the Master or herself, she walked over to it and started eating.

The Master came back from the walk-in closet, a woman's skirt suit in his hands and laid it on the bed. "I see you found you're breakfast." He smiled as he walked over to where Clara sat eating. She didn't look up at him as he sat down and folded his hands. "When you're done eating, the shower is just through that door. Your outfit is laid out for you. I will be back to collect you once I'm done making sure everything is ready for the move." He sat there for a moment longer, Clara still not looking at him. Finally with a small sigh, he got up and left the room, locking it before he started off down the hallway.

Finishing the plate and downing the water, Clara took the opportunity to use the shower. The hot water was more refreshing then anything she could think of at the moment. Taking her time, Clara finally exited and wrapped herself in a towel, walking over to see the clothes the Master had left for her. She couldn't deny she needed a new pair of clothes. Not feeling up for a fight on this, she grabbed the clothes and dressed quickly, finding a pair of shoes by the edge of the bed. Clara couldn't remember the last time she wore heels and hoped she would be able to run in them. Taking the towel she began drying her hair as she tried to break into the shoes.

It didn't take long for the Master to come back once she was dressed and ready. He opened the door with a smile and held it open for her. "Come my dear, our transport is waiting."

Clara could see that he was in a far better mood today then she had seen him in a long time. The last time he was this happy was the day he regenerated and stole the TARDIS. Clara walked over to the door and exited. "Where are we going?" She asked as he held out his arm and she reluctantly took it.

He led her down the main stairwell, press everywhere snapping pictures. After all, this was only the second time after countless live press that she's been seen. Having had a good full meal, Clara looked pretty healthy despite the treatment she'd been receiving. She kept her face down, not wanting to have to fake any smiles at the moment. She was too tired for anything at the moment and she doesn't even think she'd be able to pull it off.

They made their way out of the building, Clara's first time having some real fresh air in a long time, and made their way into a waiting van. Clara was relieved to be out of the place of her torment. She looked out the window, trying to get a good look at the building but there were too many press members in the way. When the van pulled away and started its drive to wherever, Clara pushed over in her seat to be farther away from the Master.

He seemed to have not noticed as he sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. A flash of light burst in the car as a Toclafane hovered in between the two passengers. Clara looked at it more calm this time but still kept her distance, remembering it had sharp spikes that shot out of its metal body. Looking over at it with lazy eyes, the Master waved it away but it did not leave. "What do you want?" He asked just as lazy.

"When will it happen?" It asked, sounding a bit irritated.

The Master sighed as he dropped his hand onto the seat. "This morning. Eight-oh-one."

The Toclafane stood there for a moment later, obviously unhappy with what the Master had said but with another flash of light it went away. Clara was now looking at the Master who looked tired despite his recent energetic act. "What's happening this morning?" Clara asked, shocked at how confident she spoke.

As if the Master heard her renowned energy, he sat up in his seat and folded his hands together. "I've told you. Mankind will know they are not alone. The Toclafane will rain down on the Earth and I shall rule as their master."

"You're nuts you know that?" Clara said with a slight laugh. She turned to look out the window, opening it slightly to catch the breeze.

The Master smiled, he liked her small fighting remarks. Gave him a game to play. "There will be plenty of air where we are going my dear."

"Oh, so I will be able to walk around will I? Won't be kept in a cage?" She shot back, looking back at the mad man. "And I'm not your 'dear' so stop trying to be affectionate."

"Trust me when I say there is no point. There is literally nowhere you can run." His smile stayed on his face as the van pulled up into a large lot. Clara looked out the window in shock. What looked like a giant air ship was sitting on the ground, crew running around everywhere getting ready for the takeoff. Exiting the car, the Master quickly opened Clara's door and helped her out. "Because if you tried, well, have fun falling to your death."

Clara looked at him with a fixed expression not wanting to show her discomfort at the thought of literally having nowhere to run. But then again if she would be able to roam around a massive ship instead of being locked up in a room, there was the possibility of never really having to see this madman. The Master held out his arm once more for her to take which she refused, and settled to leading her into the massive ship side by side. Clara looked around the area as the workers ran around preparing. She was hoping for a sign that would say the Doctor was here. Something, anything that would give her reason not to just attempt to jump out of the window once it had taken flight. Nothing seemed to come up except for this funny feeling she was missing something. Staring out at what she was looking for but it just…wasn't really there.

She'd take that as a hopeful hint. It was a weird enough feeling for her to feel like the Doctor was just about to save her. Looking forward, she walked into the ship which was just as filled as the outside with people running around to make sure everything was okay. The Master led her up a flight of stairs and into what must have been the conference room. A long table with comfortable looking chairs sat in the middle of the room, a small set of stairs leading up to what Clara assumed was a control panel. The large circular windows filled the room with light. Clara walked in and looked up to the group of men that walked toward them.

The Master gave a small grunt which Clara was sure only she heard, but he smiled and held out his hand. "Mr. President. How…nice to see you again."

The president took his hand with just as much effort but didn't smile. When he looked to Clara however, he gave a smile and held out his hand. "Mrs. Saxon, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Clara took his hand a bit hesitantly. "It was always a bit odd to me that you never really showed yourself in your husband's political public affairs." He said, trying to make his tone portray innocent concern, but Clara and the Master knew it was suspicion.

"She's always quite ill. Weak immune system." The Master said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, glaring slightly at the president. He gave on that sense of over protective, which he probably was.

Clara just looked at the president. She didn't really know if it was worth trying to plead for his help. After all what could a simple human do against the Master? Shoot him and all he'd do is regenerate. Then again, not if he was killed before his regeneration could take place. Still, the president didn't seem like the ideal man to kill the Master. So Clara just looked at the president while the Master kept his arm around her and pulled her away towards the seats.

Once she and the Master were seated, everyone else in the room moved along to take their seats. The ship took its flight as the president stood up at the front where the press cameras were once again being set up. The Master smiled and folded his legs and hands, looking at Clara for a moment with a smile. The lights came on bright as the little red record light on the camera turned on and the president started giving his speech to the world. "Ladies and gentlemen. We are here today to witness a historical event take place. The first official attempt to make contact…with the extraterrestrial." Just as he finished speaking, there was that small flash of light again as the Toclafane appeared in front of the president. They floated there in there funny little way as the man stood up to his full height and cleared his throat. "I am the President of the United States of America and on behalf of the United Nations and the people of the planet Earth, we welcome you in peace."

"You're not the Master." The Toclafane stated in almost a kid like voice.

Another one joined in on the taunt, moving around the president. "Yes, you are not the Master. The Master is the one who promised us."

The president seemed confused and a bit nervous at the comments coming from the alien creature. "I-I can be your master. If that's what you want."

"Look at him stutter, the coward fat human." One of the Toclafane said as it laughed. "You're not the Master!"

"The Master is kind to us and knows us! You are not the Master!" Another Toclafane half yelled, its taunts growing angrier and irritated at this strange man in front of it.

"Oh alright!" The Master said, smiling as he jumped up from his seat. "Yes, yes, it's me. I am the Master." He laughed as he took his place by the alien life form with ease as the president looked up at him in confusion.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The president yelled, moving away from the scene unfolding in front of him.

The Master's smile faded at the sound of the man's voice. He looked to his alien friend and nodded to the elder man. "Kill him." With that the Toclafane shot its ray straight at the president, vaporizing him on the spot. The room panicked, Clara sat in shock for a moment at the death of the man, the people running around like insects. The Master laughed as the panic spread. "Enough!" The Master yelled at the top of his lungs.

Everyone in the room stopped moving and crouched down behind the chairs as the Master stepped over to one of the cameras and peered into in. Clara looked over to her side as she could have sworn someone had just rushed past her. As a matter of fact, she saw someone go past her, but when she looked forward there was no one there. Clara got up from her seat slowly, taking a step around the seat to put some distance between her and this mad man. Suddenly the Master turned quickly and was holding the Doctor's wrist, something falling from his hands. Two guards came up quickly, taking hold of his arms. "Doctor!" Clara yelled, rushing forward but was stopped by a guard.

The Master shook his head slightly as he smiled. "Oh Doctor. How nice of you to finally join us. You know, she's been waiting a long time. Angered me a few times in the process." His smile turned into a wicked grin, causing the Doctor to look back at him with anger. Digging in his pocket the Master pulled out his laser screwdriver. "Could have used this on her, but, I preferred the old fashioned way. Brute force. Did you really think that little key trick was going to work on me?"

"Stop this now." The Doctor pleaded, struggling against the men holding him. "We can bring all this to an end. Me and you, right now. We can go away in the TARDIS."

"Oh! Oh I see so that's it. You want your TARDIS back. Well Doctor, tough!" He moved closer to the Doctor when he noticed movement to his side. "Stop them!" He yelled.

The guards moved and captured Jack and Martha, taking their items from around their neck. The Doctor bowed his head slightly as his plan foiled. Time for plan b then, and it was going to take a lot longer than this one. Best to try one more time. "Master, listen to me! This isn't what you want to do. This isn't-"

"Don't you patronize me Doctor!" The Master yelled as he stood in front of the Doctor, his laser screwdriver pressed under his chin. "You don't know…the drums. They want this. They are telling me what to do. Why Doctor?! Why can't you hear them! If I do this…do what they want…"

"It won't make them stop. I can help you." The Doctor tried.

There was a small pause before the Master smirked and moved away from the Doctor. He walked over to Clara, shoving the guard away and grabbing her roughly by the arm. "Look who it is sweetheart! The man you wanted to see so badly!" He pulled her over to the Doctor, grabbing her chin firmly and forcing her to look at him. "Not what you were expecting was it? You thought he would stop me. Save you and the planet. Well my dear, news flash! He's useless!" The Master shoved her away as he pointed the laser screwdriver at him once more.

Clara quickly jumped in front of the Doctor and held out her arms. "No!" She yelled, shielding him from aim.

"No Clara, get out of here!" The Doctor yelled.

"And do what? Fall to my death? No, if I'm meant to die again, it's saving you Doctor." Clara said as she glared at the Master.

The Master's brows furrowed slightly at her words. "Die again? What do you mean?"

Clara smirked, satisfied at his confusion. "You wouldn't understand. Because you don't have true friends. Ones who care and love you so much that they are willing to die for you. This here? All this already happened. I know because this is my past. The Doctor? I travel with him in the future. He gets out of this and you fail, just like everyone else who tries to stand in his way. Because I'll always be there to stop a threat too big for him to handle alone."

The Master frowned and looked to the other two captured companions. The Doctor and his friends? Always there in the worst times for him. The Doctor, always there to stop him. He looked back at Clara, tilting his head slightly and smiling. "Well then. We'll just have to rewrite time then, won't we?" He said, before pressing the button on his laser screwdriver.


	7. When All is Said and Done

It happened faster then she thought possible. The Master fired his laser screwdriver directly at her just as Jack broke free of the guards holding him. Jack came in contact with the Master just as Clara's knees hit the floor, the Doctor struggling against the loosening grips of the guards holding him. The laser screwdriver fell from the Master's hands and Jack's gun falling from his back pocket, both landing in front of Clara just as his elbow came into contact with Jack's face, springing himself free and onto his feet.

Clara fell onto her side, her hand grabbing the gun and bringing it up to aim at the Master just as he was rushing over to retrieve his laser screwdriver. She didn't really mean to, it was the heat of the moment and the pain of the blast burning through her that caused her to pull the trigger. The bullet hit the Master, who stopped his movement to look down at the wound just as the Doctor got free and rushed over to him.

Everyone in the room went silent. Jack rushed over to Clara, prying the gun from her hands with ease and cradling her to his chest. "It's okay Clara, everything is going to be okay." He brushed her hair out of her face and tried to keep her awake.

The Doctor held the Master in his arms and looked down at the wound. The Master coughed slightly as he looked up at the Doctor. "Always the woman. Look at that, dying in your arms…happy now?"

Looking into the man's face, the Doctor covered the wound and shook his head. "You're not dying don't be stupid, it's only a bullet, now regenerate."

Smiling a bit, the Master shook his head. "No."

"One little bullet, come on." The Doctor urged, seeming more anxious with his words.

"I guess you don't know me that well." The Master said, his breathing becoming a bit shallower. "I refuse."

"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please." The Doctor pulled him closer to his body, cradling him. "Please! Just regenerate!"

The Master let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the Doctor. "And spend…the rest of my life imprisoned…with you?"

Taking a few deep breaths, the Doctor felt the Master slipping away, his eyes becoming a bit glassier. "But you've got to. Come on. You and me all the things we've done. Axons, remember the Axons?" The Doctor was emotional at this point, a tear slipping from his eye as he held onto his dear old friend. "And the Dalek's. We're the only two left…there's no one else. Regenerate!"

Smiling as wide as he could with what little energy he had, the Master took in a shallow breath. "How about that. I win." He said, turning his head slightly too look over at Clara who was in the same position he was in, in pain and dying in someones arms. "And so do you Clara." The Master looked back up at the Doctor, the pain finally taking over and his breath becoming more forced.

The Doctor held onto him tight as he glanced over at Clara who didn't look any better than the Master at this point. He looked back at the Master as he took in another shaky breath. "Will it stop Doctor? The drumming?" The Master asked. The Doctor didn't have an answer for him and just held him as the Master took his last breath and died in his arms.

Jack looked over to see the Doctor setting the body in his arms down respectfully. Martha was checking for a pulse on Clara, finding a faint one as she grew paler as the seconds passed. "Doctor! We're losing her." She said.

Rushing over, the Doctor pulled Clara from Jack's arms. "Clara?! Clara stay with me. Come on, stay with me. You don't end here we both know this. You can't!" He was already an emotional wreck and now losing Clara, whom he didn't really even know. was tearing yet another hole in his hearts.

Clara's eyes opened slightly, her lips pulling into a small smile as a tear slipped. "Doctor." She said just above a whisper. "I'm so…sorry."

Shaking his head, the Doctor brushed a hand through her hair as he openly cried. "Don't be sorry Clara. You saved my life. You saved us all." He cradled her closer as he stood up. "I'm going to get you back to the TARDIS. You just hold on."

Shaking her head slightly, Clara leaned her head against his chest. "I don't think…I can make it."

The Doctor looked to Jack who grabbed one of the guards by the collar of his suit and lifted him up in the air. "Where is the blue box?! Where is it?!" He yelled, the man clearly frightened and pointing. "Lead us, quickly!" He placed the man on his feet and rushed over to pick up the Master's limp body, nodding at the Doctor.

They all followed the man down a flight of stairs and into the functions of the ship. He pointed down the long metal bridge which at the end stood the TARDIS. The Doctor could hear her crying at what the Master did to her. The paradox machine was now slipping from her since the Master died. Martha ran forward and opened the door for everyone to enter. The Doctor rushed past the console and into the hall, making his way toward the medical room. Kicking the door open, he placed Clara on the bed softly and set to getting what he needed.

Since entering the TARDIS again, Clara felt her energy coming back slightly. Then the headache started again and she knew her time in this time line was done. "Doctor." She said with more energy than the last time. He noticed the strength her call had and rushed over to her side, taking her hand. She smiled at him despite the pain it caused in her head. "My time here is done. You're saved."

The Doctor shook his head and gave her a small smile. "You're going to be just fine. I'm going to make you better."

Clara shook her head and smiled at him. "No Doctor, I'm going now. You'll see me again. For now just keep running." Her hand slipped through his as her body left him at that spot, falling once more through his time stream.

She felt her energy returning as the time stream fed it to her. It didn't take long for her to land. Clara sat up quickly, noticing that for once she hadn't landed in the TARDIS. No, this was Earth. It looked like a construction junk yard. There was mountains worth of broken up rocks and wood planks everywhere. Standing, Clara brushed herself off and started walking, warming herself as best she could. It was absolutely freezing so Clara guessed she must have landed around the holidays. The sun was up and shining brightly and a group of seniors were making their way through the area. It seemed a bit off and weird for them to be in this type of area. After all, what would a bunch of old people want here? Deciding not to interrupt them, Clara turned and started walking the other direction.

As Clara walked further through the site, hoping to find an exit soon, she came across a food truck. There was someone there, hunched eerily over the window area and moving with incredible speed. Stepping behind a mound of rocks, Clara peaked carefully to see what it was. There was already the sense that whatever was going on there was not good in any way possible.

The figure slowly retreated from the window area and turned around wiping away at his face with the sleeve of his black hoodie. Clara quickly looked away and put her back flat against the rocks. There was no mistaking it. Though he looked so much more raged and wore a hoodie and jeans rather then his usual suit; Clara knew that face anywhere.

She moved as quietly away as she could and made sure she had put a good distance between herself and the Master before breaking out into a run. There was no way to know which way you were going, but she continued to run anyways. Where was the TARDIS? Where was the Doctor? Once again Clara was stuck in an area with that mad Time Lord.

It wasn't long after that Clara heard a whirling sound and from out of the blue, the Master landed in front of her. She skidded to a stop so fast she nearly toppled over backwards. Trying to catch her breath, she stared at the man with wide eyes, wondering how he had managed to land so forcefully in front of her. He was breathing just as heavily, not something common. Time Lords didn't lose their breath as quickly as humans did.

The Master kept his eyes fixed on her as he took a few steps forward. He grinned; Clara couldn't help but gulp at that evil grin. He kept coming closer until he stood a good few inches away from her. Lifting his hand to eye level, the Master finally took his gaze off of her to look at his hand as it started glowing slightly.

Clara saw what looked like electricity starting to shoot out of his hand. She took a few steps back, but the movement caused the Master to snap out of his daze and took a few steps forward. "Honey, I'm home." He said with that grin still on his face. "So, you lived then."

"As did you." Clara answered, trying to keep her strong composure. She kept her eyes on him, never looking away for a second as he stalked her.

The Master walked around her in his usual habit way. "No, I didn't." He whispered to her when he had gotten behind her and came in too close for comfort. He continued his stalk as he spoke. "Luckily I had loyal followers. One I actually managed to have a bit of fun with. My imprint tainted on her lips, they were able to use my DNA to bring me back with the secret book I left for them. But one in there wasn't positive about it and intervened. I now have...faults." He held up his hand once more an quickly put it down.

Turning on the spot, the Master looked up and around. Clara felt that was her chance to run, but she didn't. There was something keeping her to that spot. Unsure of what it was, she just knew to stay there. "What is it?" She asked, though she wasn't sure why.

He looked back at her and took a deep breath, smelling the air. "He's here."

Clara immediately knew he meant the Doctor was here. But there was still something wrong. There wasn't that same fear installed in her from before. The Master, even though he was absolutely mad, there wasn't that same powerful presence. He should have been done with her by now. Killed her off. But he didn't. And it didn't seem like he wanted to. Whatever it was, Clara was going to find out what it was. Because this suddenly seemed so much bigger, and she knew it wasn't just the Doctor that needed saving. So did the Master.


	8. The End of Time

One. Two. Three. Four.

One. Two. Three. Four.

The Master looked up from the metal barrel he was currently beating on with the metal rod in his hands. Clara stood to the side, covering her ears as the sound echoed throughout the dirt mountain field. When he was unsatisfied, the Master started beating on the metal barrel again, this time beating it more than just four pounds. Tossing the rod aside, he jogged over to Clara and took her hand. "Let's go." He said, still looking around the area as a smile played across his features.

Without protesting, Clara ran with him. It was a bit hard for her to keep up, seeing how he seemed to run so much faster than her. Faster in general actually. And while she knew he wasn't human, even the Doctor didn't run this fast. Matter of fact, the Master didn't run this fast the last time she had met him. They started up a rather steep hill of crushed rocks and dirt which ended up being a struggle for the both of them. The Master wrapped his arm around Clara's waist and pulled her tight against him. She looked at him, her brows furrowing slightly as he seemed to be taking a deep breath. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"You better hold on." The Master said, looking up at her. Something in his eyes told her he meant what he said; she wrapped her arms around his torso just in time. The Master faced his free hand toward the ground and exhaled quickly. A powerful light shot from his hand, launching them into the air forcefully and quickly. Clara held on as tight as she possibly could as the Master kept his arm firmly around her.

They began to lower and the Master kept enough control of his power to give them a somewhat soft landing. He let go of Clara who had yet to let go of him. The Master laughed slightly, softly grabbing onto her arms and prying her off. Once she realized they had landed, she quickly dropped her arms and finally exhaled. "What was that?"

Looking at his hands, the Master shrugged his shoulders. "Not too sure. It's new. Happened when they brought me back." He dropped his hands to his side and walked to the edge of the current mound they were standing on. Looking down, he smiled as the Doctor stared back up at him. He saw the shock on the mans face, finally coming to terms with the fact that his enemy was back. "Look who it is." The Master said to Clara.

She was a bit hesitant at first, but Clara moved over to the edge to look down. There the Doctor stood, his mouth opening slightly and a smile quickly forming on his face when he saw her. She smiled back at him, wanting nothing more than to run into his arms at the moment. But not only did she know the Master wouldn't allow it, she couldn't leave him. There was something wrong with this whole scenario that had Clara glued to the Master. She felt the need to be with him to possibly help everyone. Giving a small wave just so the Doctor would know she was alright; the Master took her hand and softly pulled her away from the edge.

They heard the Doctor make his move after them but was stopped short by a group of elderly humans. The Master pulled Clara along, further through the crushed rock mounds until he found a fairly cleared area. He pulled over some of the metal barrels and started to beat them down. Clara covered her ears again, unable to take that sound. When he was done, he tossed the metal barrel to the side and motioned for Clara to sit while he started beating down another one.

By the time he finished making his seat, the sun had begun to set. Clara rubbed her hands together as the cold of the night started creeping up on her. It was cold enough as it was and now that the sun was setting and they weren't moving she was getting quite chilled. The Master sat on his seat and picked up a stick, fiddling with it in his fingers to occupy himself. Suddenly he started tapping out the four drum beats on his hand with the stick, seeming dazed.

Clara watched him and gulped slightly. He seemed to be in his own world; his eyes far off. But she had remembered him tapping that beat out. She remembered him talking about it every single day of her captivity. Part of her said not to reach out for him, let him keep drumming out the beat. But she could see he was starting to beat his hand harder, small trickles of blood started forming only to be splashed about with each new hit. He was suffering. Clara moved her seat closer to his and reached out hesitantly to grab his hand holding the stick.

At contact, the Master looked at her, blinking a few times before looking down at his hand. "The drums...are louder than ever before." He whispered as he looked back up at Clara.

She noticed how pain stricken he looked and automatically felt her heart sink. Everything about this was telling Clara she should be thinking he deserved it. He put her through hell for so much time. On a few accounts he attempted to rape her. The man was evil. But the man was also tortured his whole life. And for a Time Lord, that life was a very long one. More than any human would ever live. Clara took the stick from his hand with ease and tossed it away from them. "It's alright. I'm here." She half whispered to him.

The Master's face hardened as he wiped the blood from his hand, but he couldn't maintain the composure for long. He frowned slightly and leaned forward, burying his face in his hands and taking quick deep breaths. Clara put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him to her. The Master was shocked by the care she was giving him, but welcomed it, resting his head on her lap and balling his hands into fist. Clara rubbed his back soothingly and wondered if he had ever let go of his anger and rage before just to simply cry. But even now he held back the tears and simply hyperventilated.

"When I was eight," the Master started as he turned his head to rest his cheek against her leg, looking out as the sun set further, "I looked into the time vortex. As every Time Lord child must. And as I stared into all that was, all that is, and all that ever could be I heard the drums. One two three four. Constantly. A never ending drum beat. Always there. Always."

Clara simply listened as he spoke, guessing he needed someone to tell this to. The sun had finally set and the Master was breathing evenly now. His fist had unclenched and relaxed lazily on her lap. Clara was still rubbing his back soothingly and absentmindedly playing with his hair. He suddenly sat up and stared straight ahead intently. "Are you alright?" Clara asked.

The Master didn't answer as he stood up and walked forward. He turned back to her quickly and pointed a finger at her. "Stay here." He said firmly and he walked away, disappearing behind a mountain of crushed rocks and dirt.

Once he was out of her sight, the Master stopped walking and waited. There he stood. The Doctor, looking as determined as ever. With a smile, the Master started rubbing his hands together. The friction built up his power, the electric bolts sparking in his hands. He shot the energy out of his hand, missing the Doctor a bit to the side causing a fire to start. The Doctor was approaching him without a scare. Rubbing his hands together again, the Master shot again, missing once more. Determination filled him as he rolled back his shoulders and built up the energy again. This time, he shot and hit the Doctor square in the chest.

The Doctor was prevented from moving forward as the energy caused him too much pain. The Master had called off the shot, causing the Doctor to fall to his knees, but the Master caught him and brought him down to the floor softly. They looked at each other for a moment, before the Master looked at his former friend in disgust and let him fall to the ground. The Master looked away from the Master and up at the night sky. "I had estates. Do you remember my father's land back home? Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky." He paused to look back at the Doctor and glared at him. "Look at us now."

"All that eloquence. But how many people have you killed?" The Doctor said with a bit of a struggle as he attempted to push himself off the ground. He managed to prop himself up on one forearm and gaze up at the Master.

The Master bent down, supporting himself on the balls of his feet. "I am so hungry." He said with confusion and irritation.

Taking a shaky breath, the Doctor struggled to keep himself upright as he spoke. "Your resurrection went wrong. That energy; your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

But the Master seemed to not have heard him as he ran a hand irritably through his messy hair. Looking out at the empty space again, the Master pointed outward as he looked at the Doctor, his eyes in pain. "That human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It's so hot."He started to speak faster and faster, getting lost in himself and unable to control it.

The Doctor was growing worried and tried to move closer to the man. "Stop it."

"Slice, slice, slice." The Master said quickly, not having heard the Doctor.

"Stop it!" The Doctor pleaded again.

"It's mine. It's mine. It's mine to eat and eat and eat." The Master hit himself a few times and covered his head. He was snapping out of the daze. But his body hungered painfully and he didn't know what to do about it.

Waiting a moment to see if anything else happened, the Doctor moved further onto his forearm, his energy returning to him. "What if I ask you for help? There's more at work tonight than you and me."

The Master uncovered his head and looked at the Doctor with exhaustion. "Oh yeah?" He asked with a bit of amusement.

"I've been told somethings returning." The Doctor tried to insist.

But the Master brushed it off with a shrug of his shoulders. "And here I am."

The Doctor shook his head a bit. "No, something more."

"But it hurts." The Master said, going back into his own mind.

He knew he was losing the Master. The man was surmising to his mind once more and the Doctor tried to word his next words to penetrate his mind and grab his attention. "I was told the end of time."

"It hurts. Doctor, the noise. The noise in my head, Doctor. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before. Can't you hear it?" The Master's mind was gone now; he moved forward toward the Doctor eerily slow. The Doctor apologized but the Master was not having it. He shook his head and was now mere inches from the Doctor's face. "Listen, listen, listen, listen. Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is, calling to me. Please listen." The Master could hear the drums loudly in his head, banging on his temples. It wasn't possible at this rate that he was the only person who could here them.

The Doctor shook his head. "I can't hear it."

Aggravated, the Master grabbed onto either side of the Doctor's face and glared at him. "Listen." He said deeply before closing his eyes and placing his forehead against the Doctor's. A moment later, the Doctor pulled back harshly, looking at the Master with confusion and horror. "What?" The Master questioned, lost and stunned.

"I heard it. But there's no noise. There never has been. It's just your insanity. What is it? What's inside your head?" The Doctor felt all his energy return but he was too shocked to stand up.

The Master started laughing, looking at his hands and then back at the Doctor. "It's real...it's real. It's real!" He screamed as he shot the energy from his hands and launched up into the air. He landed right beside Clara, causing her to jump. He grabbed onto her shoulders, still laughing. "It's real, Clara! He heard it!"

Before she could say anything, the Doctor ran around the mound and skidded to a stop. "Clara!" He yelled, but didn't move forward as the Master moved behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck.

What Clara couldn't understand was why he wasn't choking her. It was a front. To keep the Doctor at bay. "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor. What is it? What is it? What is it?!" He yelled.

A bright light shined down on the Master and Clara, a second one beaming seconds later on the Doctor. Ropes dropped from the helicopter hovering above and a few soldiers repealed down them. They grabbed onto Clara, pulling her away from the Master as they grabbed hold of him and shot something into his neck. "No! Leave him alone!" She yelled; she could hear the Doctor yelling behind her.

A soldier started firing rounds at the Doctor, forcing him to take cover and avert the scene. Clara kicked at the soldier who was firing, hitting him in his groin. "Leave them alone!" Clara yelled again, feeling something cold press against her neck and suddenly she was out cold.

The Doctor watched in horror as the Master and Clara were being held by the soldiers and brought up into the helicopter. "Let them go!" The Doctor yelled, trying one last attempt to get them back. But suddenly he was struck on the back of his head; falling onto the cold hard ground completely unconscious.


	9. Helping The Enemy

Clara opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times as the light overhead shined brightly. From what she could tell, she was laying on something soft but couldn't move her hands or legs. They were being bound by something. As her eyes adjusted a bit more, Clara looked to the side to see the Master still unconscious and bound as well. Trying to stay calm, Clara surveyed the area. She couldn't figure out where they were. It was hard enough trying to figure out what time line she had landed in to begin with. Pulling at her binds, Clara struggled for a while before coming to the conclusion that these were not coming undone anytime soon.

The Master jolted awake, blinking fast and looking around. When he realized he couldn't lift his arms or legs, he began pulling at the binds. He looked to his side when he realized someone else was there. "Clara?" He said in a loud whisper. Seeing she was also bound, the Master tried even harder to break through but to no avail. He stopped when a few men had walked in, their weapons at the ready. Looking at Clara, he shook his head, ordering her to stay quiet.

The men tilted the Master upright, locking him in place and then moved over to do the same to Clara. The Master continued to survey the situation. They were going to be moved, that much he knew. A man came over and pulled a belt over the Master's forehead, holding his head in place and then another over his mouth. Once they had done the same to Clara, they began moving them to another room. Guards were all around them as they relocated, as if they were either precious cargo or a huge threat.

Coming into a large open room, Clara first notice a machine that seemed to be under construction of sorts. People in white coats were moving about it and adding pieces to it, rushing about to monitors. There was a glass like case on the side of them but she wasn't able to get a good look at it as they were pushed past it quickly and over to a gentleman standing there with a younger woman by his side. He was speaking to her and pointing at the Master with a smile. The man looked to a gentleman on the side and waved his hand slightly. "If you would please, Mr. Danes." His voice was deep and bounced off the walls.

The man came over and undid the gag on the Master's mouth, moving over to Clara and doing the same. Clara wanted to speak, ask what was going on, what the meaning of this was. But something in the way the Master had shook his head to her before kept her quiet. It was as though he was devising a plan. Perhaps he knew what was going on, or had a pretty good idea. The Master licked his lips a few times as he looked at the people staring back at him. "I'm starving." He said with an amused smile.

The man completely ignored the Master's remark and put his arm around the younger woman. "I'm Joshua Naismith. You've my daughter to thank for this. Abigail. It's all her idea. She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return. It's the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling." He was smiling as if this was a normal thing happening. As if 'Harold Saxon' was a normal human being, although this man seemed to know he was anything but a normal human being.

Abigail smiled just as brightly and clapped her hands together with great enthusiasm. "And I was right. He's back. The very man we need, and he's here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful!" She exclaimed, looking at the Master. Her attention turned then to Clara, her smile falling slightly as her brows furrowed. "And who is that?" She asked her father with clear confusion.

Mr. Naismith looked over to Clara and walked slowly over to her. He gave a quick glance to the Master, looking for any reaction. But he didn't show any means that he cared the man was advancing toward the female so he continued on his way. "If I'm not mistaken, you were on one of the broadcast. The Prime Minister's wife, am I not mistaken?" He seemed to have a knowing grin on his face, and when Clara didn't answer, he nodded and walked back to his daughter. "The false wife of Harold Saxon! Clara, is it?" He laughed.

His daughter laughed with him, the two seeming to be in a crazed state. Clara wished for the moment she was actually closer to the Master, away from being bound and around so many people with weapons and this crazed man and his daughter. Abigail turned to Clara once more, a slight look of disgust on her face. "Yes, I recall seeing her before. Not very often." She spat, turning to her father with a slight glare.

With a nod, Mr. Naismith turned to one of his guards and waved him over. The guard came over swiftly, his posture perfect as he awaited his order. "Kill her." Mr. Naismith said without a hint of remorse.

Clara felt the blood drain from her face as her breath caught. "Kill me?! What reason do you have?!" She yelled, unable to do anything else.

When no one answered, the guard walked up to her, taking out his gun. The Master quickly frowned and sighed in frustration when the binds on him didn't allow him to turn and see what was going on. "Don't you dare!" The Master yelled, his body slightly changing for a quick moment in his anger. "Don't you do anything to her!" He yelled even louder, pulling against his binds. To the shock of the room, he broke one hand free, quickly pulling at the other binds and rushing over to Clara's aid.

With one swift hit, the Master splattered the guards blood all over the floor. His hand was still inside the man's chest, the man's eyes wide as he let out a deafening scream. With a smile, the Master pulled his hand out, holding a part of the man's spine as he collapsed to the ground. Coming out of their shock, every guard raised their guns and aimed it at the Master who was shielding Clara with his body. He outstretched his hands, and glared around the room, ready to pounce like a tiger on the first idiot who would dare come near him.

A small laugh broke the threatening silence in the room. Then the laugh grew. Abigail was on the verge of hysterics by the time others started joining in. She began clapping and then applauded toward the Master, her laughs calming down as she wiped a tear away. Her father fixed his suit, a smile on his face as he gave a slight nod. From behind the Master, a guard shot him with a tranquilizer. Rushing in, the guards took a hold of him and dragged him out of the room. One came over with a needle and went over to Clara, jabbing it in her neck and she was out.

By the time Clara opened her eyes again, the Master was being fighting with a large number of guards as they tried to get his other arm into the straitjacket. Clara rubbed her neck, the needle having left a bruise on her. Trying to steady herself as she stood up, Clara rushed over to the Master, pushing the guards in her way off of him. "Stop it!" She yelled, wrapping her arms around him. Her grip tightened when she felt hands trying to pry her off. Someone yelled from behind her and the hands released her. Slowly turning around, Clara looked up to see Mr. Naismith standing there. She kept her arms around the Master as she glared at the man, feeling his breathing calm down . "What do you want with him?"

Mr. Naismith seemed calm and relaxed as he folded his hands behind his back. "Come this way and I'll show you both." He said with a smile.

Clara was hesitant, but the Master leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Go along with it. I sense something." He said. Letting him go, Clara nodded and stood up. The guards quickly moved in and finished getting the Master into his straitjacket. Once they had him secured, the got him to his feet and all set on their way, following Mr. Naismith. He led them back to the room with the machine, the workers seeming to be waiting for something. He clapped his hands together in joy. "Demonstrate!" He said, having the workers moving around to get the machine started.

The large gate on either side started sparking electricity until it was simply surging with it. The Master's brows shot up and he smirked, looking at Mr. Naismith who was admiring the piece of equipment. "Oh, that's not from Earth." The Master said with a slight giggle.

Mr. Naismith turned to the Master, his smiles fading slightly. "And neither are you. A perfect combination don't you think?" He waved his hand slightly and the workers shut down the machine.

Clara looked from the machine to Mr. Naismith. "If you know it's not from Earth, and neither is he. How did you manage to get this?" She asked.

"The Gate was found inside a spaceship buried at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It was moved to an institute known as Torchwood, but when Torchwood fell, let's just say I acquired it." The smirk on his face told Clara he had done a lot to get this piece of equipment. She didn't ask any further and looked to the Master.

The Master was staring at the piece of equipment with a strong stare. His eyes quickly shot back to Mr. Naismith and he nodded slightly. "I like you." He said, quickly feeling something was wrong with his body. The man thanked him with a strong sense of pride and the Master frowned. "You'd taste great." The Master taunted.

Clearing his throat, Mr. Naismith waved his hand and his best man quickly made a call. They brought up a large tray with a roasted chicken and unstrapped the Master's straitjacket. Every guard aimed their weapon at the Master, but he couldn't care less about them as he took Clara's hand and led her to the table. He pulled a chunk of the chicken off with his bare hands and put it on a plate for her. She sat down next to him, feeling safer next to him than anywhere else at the moment. Clara hadn't eaten in a long while and she ate the chicken fast, but not as fast as the Master was devouring the rest of it. He finished the whole chicken before she did, but he sucked on the bones until she was done.

Once he saw they were done, Mr. Naismith had the table cleared and he stood in front of the table. "Anyway, the device came equipped with it's own power supply. A Nuclear Bolt. One technician remains in charge of the feedback twenty four hours a day, and the power feeds through to the Gate, where it encourages some sort of cellular regeneration. Miss Collins was our test subject. She carried some burns as a result of an accident when she was a child, down her left side. If you could?" He waved a female over who showed her arm which showed no indication that there were ever burns there. "The Gate mended her."

The Master was growing bored of the man's speech. He was an expert in machines of the such. He could rewire this thing in whatever way he desired. "Cut the shitty act. What do you want it for?"

Mr. Naismith seemed unfazed by the Master's outburst and he called over his daughter. "We calculate that if this device can be fully repaired by your good self, it can restore the body forever. Hence it's given title. The Immortality Gate. Because that's what I want. Not for me, but for my daughter. I want her never to die. My gift to her. She will be immortal."

"So pride and greed is what you are raising her on." Clara said, her tone portraying her disapproval.

Abigail's smile briefly fell, but it returned quickly as she tried not to let it upset her. "My name, it means bringer of joy." She smiled at her father.

Clara rolled her eyes and looked to the Master who smirked. The two started laughing slightly. And then they were both laughing freely. The father and daughter stared at the duo. Part of Clara still couldn't believe she was siding with the Master, but only hours before he had defended her. And now they were laughing together. Laughing at the situation they were in. Laughing at this crazy father and his selfish daughter. They didn't care that Mr. Naismith looked upset and the guards started closing in around them, they laughed. Finally, after a moment, the Master patted Clara's shoulder lightly and sniffed the air, giving Clara a wink. "Before I do anything for you two weirdos, what am I getting in return? Oh no! Don't tell me. I'm guessing you won't kill us here and now. But here is my proposal. I'll work on you immortal machine. And then you actually do let us go. Clara, myself, and whoever else decides they want to pop up in the area. Do we have a deal?" The Master asked, outstretching his hand for the man to take. Mr. Naismith nodded his head and shook the Master's hand. "Well then, we better get to work." He said, one of the workers bringing over a computer for him to use.

Clara sat there in the chair next to the Master, watching things unfold on the screen as the Master typed away a mile a minute. She knew he was up to something. And with the wink, she knew he sensed the TARDIS. It was a normal thing for him to always know when the Doctor was around. A few hours later, a man came with another tray piled with sandwiches. The Master didn't take his eyes off of what he was doing as he reached out and grabbed a sandwich, eating it quickly. Clara grabbed one before they were all gone and ate it slower than she had the chicken. By the time she was finished, the Master slowed his typing, figuring he was finishing up.

Mr. Naismith noticed the Master's slower rate and stood up, looking to the Gates with a smile. He walked over to the Master and folded his hands behind his back. "Now, please don't imagine I'm a slave-driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mister Saxon."

"My name is the Master." He said with aggravation as he finished up his work. He glanced at Clara and hit a final key. The lights dimmed and a wormhole developed inside the Gate.

"Oh excellent! Just excellent!" Mr. Naismith boasted. "Mr. Danes?" He said.

"The visitors will be restrained." Mr. Danes said and the guards moved forward with the straitjacket in hand.

The Master looked over in surprise and his brows furrowed. "What?! But I repaired it!" He yelled as they forced him back into the straight jacket.

Clara looked around just as confused as two guards came over and held her back from helping the Master. Mr. Naismith glared at the Master as he wrapped an arm protectively around his daughter. "I'm not an idiot! Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you've laid traps. Perhaps explosives. A means of escape, or murder. But everything you've done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside. Don't let him anywhere near it! Or her!" He yelled to his guards. "But it's time for the broadcast. The President's grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend it's own problems."

"Says the one who asked for the Master's help! You can't mend your own problems!" Clara spat angrily at the man.

"You say it as if you are not human yourself, Ms. Clara. As far as I'm concerned, you are one of us. Being with an alien so long, has it turned you against your own race?" Mr. Naismith spat back calmly.

The Master chuckled. "Maybe she's seen you all for what you really are. You were made to be rules. Understand that."

Before Mr. Naismith could say anything back, the doors burst open. Clara and the Master turned simultaneously to see the Doctor rushing into the room, Wilfred trailing behind, weapons being turned on him. The Doctor held up his hands in defense. "Shut down the Gate!" He yelled.

"And why would I do that?" Mr. Naismith asked with slight confusion as to who this man was

The Doctor kept his arms up as he looked to the Master and Clara. "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that thing!"

Clara looked to the Master who started to laugh at the Doctor's remark. "Oh, like that was ever going to happen." As if it was a sheet of paper, the Master ripped the straitjacket off of himself and burst power out of his hands, leaping over everyone and landing directly in the Gate. "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!" He yelled.

"Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!" The Doctor yelled, but everyone was leaning over, covering their heads as if they were in pain.

The guards holding Clara let her go to cater to their heads and she rushed over to the Gate, not knowing if she should jump into it to try and get the Master out. Mr. Naismith was yelling that the Master was in his head, the whole room repeating the same pain. The Doctor looked around briefly, not knowing what to do. He looked at the Master and charged toward him. "Get out of there!"

Quickly, the Master shot a burst of energy at the Doctor, knocking him back. Wilfred rushed over to the Doctor but stopped to cater to his head. "Doctor! It's his face! I can see him." He blinked a few times, trying to see anything but the Master in his head.

Clara looked around the room, wondering why everyone was affected except for the Doctor and herself. Taking a deep breath, Clara pushed into the wormhole and into the Gate, grabbing onto the Master's sweater and standing in front of him. "You have to stop this! You're hurting them!" She pulled on his sweater, grabbing fist fulls of the fabric. Inside the Gate, she felt as if all her energy was being drained and she couldn't hold herself upright without the support.

The Master ignored her as the Doctor tried to shut down the Gate and laughed hysterically. "I've locked it you idiot!"

Looking around, the Doctor pulled Wilfred over to the glass cases where a worker was trapped. "Wilfred! Get inside! Get him out of there!" Wilfred did as he was told and the Doctor knew that he would be safe from the Master's plan in there. The Doctor entered the other end to open the door and Wilfred switched with the worker. "Radiation shielding! Now press that button to let me out. I can't get out of here until you press that button there." With that, Wilfred's door locked and the Doctor's opened.

Clara pulled at the Master's sweater again, causing him to look down at her this time. "Please! You've got to stop this, whatever you are doing. We can destroy this machine and get out of here alive!" She pleaded with him.

The Master placed his hands on either side of her face softly. "Don't you worry. I'll have full control of everything. This world will be mine. And the filth that runs it will be no more." The Master said calmly.

Shaking her head, Clara held onto his sweater tighter. "One bad man doesn't determine that of the whole race. You should know that better than anyone."

This seemed to have caught his attention. The Master looked up at the cowering humans. At the Doctor who was watching his old friend answer the his cell phone with a look of horror. The drums were louder in his head. He had to do this. They were telling him to do it. And so he was going to do it. Looking down at Clara, he smiled and leaned lower, his face mere inches from hers. "This will all be over soon. And you can stand beside me. The only human left. And you will be safe." The Master said and closed the space between them.

Clara wasn't shocked by the kiss, but by how different it felt. Before it had always been cold and lustful. This time it was gentle and caring. A warmth from the Master that he was allowing her to see. And then Clara heard it. The four beats of the drums inside her head just as he pulled away. Clara looked around just in time to see everyone's face blurring except the Doctor's, Wilfred's, and the Master's. "Welcome to the Master race!" The Master boasted as the faces stopped blurring and everyone was indeed the Master.

Wilfred banged on the glass, his phone still in his hands. "Doctor!" He yelled frantically. "Doctor, she's starting to remember!"

The Doctor looked around, not knowing what to do. He looked up to see the Master holding Clara who looked confused but not frightened. Looking back to Wilfred, he saw the sad pain stricken look on his friends face. Everywhere he turned, he saw the Master's face, his evil grin staring back at him. "What have you done?!"

"The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race!" He said and started laughing.

Clara looked at the Doctor, unsure what to do. That feeling of needed to help the Master was still there but she had no clue as to what it was. Did she just help him take over the planet? Kill off the human race? On Christmas Day, the human race cease to exist. No, Clara knew the Master had no concept of his greater role in events that were about to unfold. This was going to be so much bigger than them all.


	10. Whitepoint Star

The Doctor had ordered Clara to stay away as the Master and his self minions bound him to the trolley and pulled the mouthpiece over so he couldn't speak. She felt helpless but knew she had to stay on the Master's good side in order to find out what was going on here. Next he had Wilfred tied to a chair and Clara sat down next to him, free of any bindings. The Master was speaking to his self minions, everyone checking in as he made sure everything had gone according to his plans.

"This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defenses."

"UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir."

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!"

The orders kept coming in over the screens as the Master minions accounted for the world and what it had now become. The Master smiled in his triumph, turning to look at the Doctor who was helpless. "Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor?" He teased, pouncing around the area in joy. The Master walked up to stand beside the Doctor, a wide smile still on his face. "What's that? Pardon?" He joked.

Wilfred struggled in his chair slightly, trying to pull at the binds to no avail. "Leave him alone you swine!" He yelled at the Master, stopping his movements when the Master turned his attention onto him.

"Oh look, your dads still kicking up a fuss." The Master said to the Doctor with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah?! Well, I'd be proud if I was!" Wilfred yelled. Before anyone could say anything else, the phone in his jacket pocket started ringing. Wilfred's eyes widened as the Master's brows furrowed and walked over to him. "Let me just...turn that off." Wilfred said.

The Master shook his head, looking angry and confused. "No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" Clara could see the worry coming onto Wilfred's features as the Master dug into his pocket. When he pulled out the phone, Wilfred pleaded for him to leave it alone, but the Master was reading the caller i.d. "Donna, who's Donna?"

"She's no one! Just leave it!" Wilfred shouted at the Master.

Clara jumped from her seat and took the phone from the Master with ease. He looked at her, but she smiled at him reassuringly and he shrugged his shoulders, walking back over to the Doctor to watch what she does. Hesitantly, Clara answered the phone and sat close to Wilfred so he could hear as well. As soon as the lines connected, Donna frantically started babbling into the receiver. "Gramps! Don't hang up, you've got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing." She said quickly into the phone.

Clara cleared her throat and looked to Wilfred who nodded. She put the phone to her ear and spoke into the receiver. "Donna, my name is Clara. I'm here to help you." She could hear Donna stuttering on the other line in confusion. "Please, just listen to me. Your grandad is here. He's...safe. Just, Donna, just run. Get indoors somewhere, make sure you're alone." Clara spoke lowly into the receiver so the Master wouldn't hear.

But he grew suspicious and looked at one of his self minions. "Find her. Trace the call." He looked to Wilfred with a grin. "Say goodbye to the freak, grandad."

Wilfred struggled in his chair again, looking to Clara. "Run sweetheart! That's all! Just run for your life Donna!" He pulled at the binds harder until his wrist hurt and pulled harder more.

"Are you still there?" Donna asked frantically. "Gramps? Clara? What's going on! What do I do?"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick. Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane. Red alert." One of the minions said as he sent out the call.

Clara turned to the Master only to see he was watching her intently. She didn't know what to do, what to tell Donna on the other line. When Donna said there was more of them headed her way, Clara tried to think and then held the phone to Wilfred's ear. "You need to calm her down." Clara urged him.

Wilfred took a deep breath and tried to tell her to run in a more calming manner. But Donna was panicking. "It's not just them. I can see those things again. Those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?" She yelled.

"Don't think about that sweetheart, just run!" He looked at the Doctor who didn't seem the slightest bit worried. Wilfred found that odd and he spoke into the receiver again. "Just run."

"And it hurts. My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!" Donna's line went dead after that.

Wilfred called to her a few times with nothing coming up. The Master walked over and took the phone from Clara's hands, putting it to his ear with a smile. But when he turned to the Doctor, the man was smiling and gave him a quick wink. The Master frowned and tossed the phone onto the ground, marching up to the Doctor and pulling at the strap around his mouth. "What did you do?" He asked angrily.

The Doctor kept his smile on as he licked his lips at the freedom of his mouth. "Ah, that's better. Hello! But really, did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?" He looked past the Master and to Wilfred. "She's alright. I promise. She's just sleeping now is all."

The Master looked irritated and kept his back to Wilfred and Clara. "Tell me, where's your TARDIS?"

Clara walked slowly over to one of the Master minions who was busy on the computer. She took his weapon he had standing against the desk and held behind her back. She was working out the plan as she went along. The Doctor gave her a quick glance before looking back at the Master. "You could be so wonderful." The Doctor told him.

"Where is it?!" The Master hissed, moving closer.

The Doctor shook his head slightly. "You're a genius. You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honour. Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough." He could see the Master's features soften slightly as Clara eased her way closer to the Master, keeping the weapon hidden behind her back.

Tilting his head slightly to the side, the Master's brows furrowed. "Would it stop then? The noise in my head?" The Master asked softly.

Wilfred was confused beyond reason and looked to the Doctor. "What's he mean? What noise?"

Clara stopped in her tracks as the Master turned to look at Wilfred with an unamused look. "It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism. They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums." The Master explained before looking at Clara and giving her a small smile.

She returned the smile, praying in her head that he would turn back around. He finally did and the Doctor gave her a quick look again before looking at Wilfred. "It's a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts." He looked back to the Master. "Let's find it them. You and me."

The Master shook his head before stopping to think for a moment, a grin forming on his face as he looked down at the floor. "The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes." He looked back up at the Doctor with a smile. "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time. What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. Me! Where is the TARDIS?" The Master gave the Doctor a quick smack out of pure excitement.

Shaking his head, the Doctor frowned. This man had it all wrong and the Doctor could see how fast this was going down hill. "No. Just stop, just think!"

But the Master was not having any delays. He pointed to Wilfred and looked to one of his guards. "Kill him." He turned back to the Doctor with a frown. "I need that technology, Doctor, You tell me where the ship is or I'll kill the old man! I'll kill him right now!"

Clara was close enough, now with the guard distracted with watching Wilfred, she took the rifle from behind her back and inched closer. The Doctor smiled at the Master and shook his head. "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid. You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"

"Like what?" The Master asked. But before the Doctor could answer, Clara brought the rifle up and swatted the Master on the back of his head. He fell to the floor out cold.

Taking a deep breath, Clara turned to the guard that was at Wilfred but he held up his hands quickly. "It's alright! I'm a friend!" He said, taking off his helmet to reveal a green spiky head. He smiled at Clara and then looked up as his friend ran in.

Clara lowered her weapon and sighed in relief. She started to unstrap the Doctor as the others got Wilfred out and onto his feet, but there were too many buckled and not enough time. She sighed in frustration and looked to Wilfred and the two aliens that had joined them. "It's a damn trolley! Just get him out of here! The Master will wake up at any moment!" She told them quickly.

The Doctor struggled against his binds as he looked at Clara. "You're coming with us." He said quickly.

"No, I'm not." Clara told him with an apologetic smile. "You've got to get out of here. So long as you're safe, I'll be able to do whatever needs to be done here."

Shaking his head, the Doctor pulled against the binds, but his companions came over and started rolling him away. "No! Wait! Let me out of this damn thing! Clara!" He called back, but she had shut the doors behind her.

Taking a deep breath, Clara rushed over to the Master to check up on him. There was no bleeding to her relief. She stood by his side as some of his self minions came rushing in. Just as they had arrived, the Master was coming around and he rubbed the back of his head as he sat up and looked at Clara. "What the hell happened?" He asked angrily.

"Seems someone he knows snuck into the facility." Clara answered, glad she could come up with something on the spot.

The Master stood up and looked to his guards. "Find him! Now!" He yelled at them. One of his selves came over the screen to announce the Doctor had been located under the Gate room, but a transmitter was used and he had escaped. The Master rushed over to the scanner, seeing a spaceship on the monitor but just as quickly it had disappeared. He brought his fist down on the monitor and looked to his self minion on the screen. "What about teleport coordinates? I want every missile on those coordinates! Blast him and his friends right out of the sky!" The Master yelled angrily.

Clara rushed up to his side and grabbed onto his arm. "No! Master, please." She looked up at him when he turned to look at her. "Please, leave him. He's up there and can't do anything to stop you. The Doctor is the only one you have left from your planet. Original." She swallowed as he watched her for a moment and then looked back to the screen.

His minions were awaiting his order. Finally after a while, the Master shook his head and sighed. "Abort." He said before looking back at Clara and brought his hand up, running it softly through her hair. "Night has fallen upon us. I need to do something, if you'll excuse me." He said softly to her and pointed at a table.

Nodding slightly, Clara walked over and sat on the chair by the table as the Master got his minions together all over the world. He took a deep breath before looking up and closing his eyes, all his minions doing the same. Clara sat in her seat, not wanting to move in case she disrupted the Master and things turned negative. She knew they could, so Clara kept to her seat as the Master continued his concentration. She looked up at the screen just in time to see something coming into view on it. Standing from her seat, Clara walked up to the screen slowly. "What is that?" She whispered to herself.

"There! The sound is tangible." The Master said as he opened his eyes and looked back forward. "Someone could have designed this...but who?" He asked.

Clara turned to the Master as he walked up to stand next to her. "It's coming from the sky." Together they watched the monitor as the object on the screen propelled down towards Earth and chose its crash landing spot. "It's landed." She said to him.

The Master turned to his minions and smiled. "Find it. Get out there and find it now!" He yelled before looking back at Clara as the minions ran out. "This is it. The source to it all."

"What if its a trap?" Clara asked, crossing her arms as she stared at the screen.

The Master didn't seemed phased by the question. "Not possible." He said with confidence.

Clara could hear his excitement with this discovery. She couldn't blame him really. If this really was the answer to the drums in his head, he deserved to find out what it was. But Clara had the unsettling feeling and knew it was the answer as well as a trap. "Master, doesn't it seem odd? After all these years it finally appears? When you have managed to bring the Doctor down to his weakest, unable to do anything, and you possess the Gate?" She looked up at him with concern.

He looked back at her, his eyes soft as he thought about her words. Before he could say anything, a voice came over the radio. "We've found it sir. It's some sort of diamond." The voice said just as the doors opened and the minions walked in with the item they collected.

The Master's eyes widened and he smiled brightly. "That's not a diamond. It's a whitepoint star." The Master said with disbelief. He rushed around the computers and entered in the coordinates to the Doctor's ship. He cleared his throat as he took the whitepoint star from his minions hand, smiling at Clara as he brought the radio to his lips. "A star fell from the sky. Don't you want to know where it's from? Because it all makes sense now, Doctor."

There was no reply. Clara knew the Doctor was smart and wouldn't answer or the Master would know where he was. She watched as the Master held the whitepoint star up to his eyes, the amazement clear. Clara turned around quickly when the minions started moving about, all of them working in unison on an unspoken project. They all just seemed to know what to do. Well, them all being the same mind, of course they did. She looked back at the Master and watched him. "What is it?" She asked.

"The whole of my life." The Master said to her as well as into the receiver. "My destiny. The star was a diamond and that diamond was a whitepoint star. And I am working to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be spectacular. Over and out!" He put the radio down and walked back over to Clara.

She looked from the object to him. "So, what's it for then?" Clara asked, not understanding the importance.

The Master put the whitepoint star into his pocket and put an arm around Clara's shoulders. He walked around with her, watching the minions at work as he spoke. "There is only one place you can get a whitepoint star, Clara. And that place no longer exist. The Doctor and I's home planet, Gallifrey. Which means it's the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning." The Master smiled as Clara tried to get her head around everything he was saying. "Now, this holds a signal. A very powerful signal. So I am building a gizmo to amplify it. Bring forth where the four beats are coming from."

Clara thought about the four beats that the Master always hear. It seemed so familiar. Even now, with the Master's arm wrapped around her, his body so close she could feel his hearts beating. The same pattern. "The beat in your head...Master, its not drums." She said slowly, looking up at him.

He looked down at her quickly, curiosity getting the better of him as well as anger. "Do not patronize me Clara. They have been with me ever since I looked into the vortex. The drums."

Shaking her head, Clara tried a different way to try and explain. "Yes, I know they have been in your head since you were a child. But that's not what I meant. They're not drums. It's a heartbeat. Particularly the heartbeat of a Time Lord." She placed her hand on his chest, his eyes following her hand as it lay there. "One, two, three, four. That's the way your hearts beats, and the Doctor's as well."

The Master stared at her hand for a while, putting his own over hers. Together they felt his hearts beat for a while. Suddenly the Master took his hand off hers and moved over to the gizmo. "Open up the Nuclear Bolt. Infuse the power lines to maximum!" The Master took the whitepoint star out of his pocket.

Clara looked at him and rushed up to his side. "What are you doing?!" She asked frantically. Two minions came up to her and pulled her away, holding her back as the Master continued what he was doing.

A minion at the computers rushed around before nodding at the Master. "Nuclear bolt accelerating, sir."

"Send the signal back and the link becomes a pathway." The Master said as he placed the whitepoint star in a bed of wires within the gizmo. The sounds amplified, the four beats coming in clearly.

"Stop it! You can't do that!" Clara shouted. She'd spent enough time with the Doctor to know that nothing good could come out of this. "Please, just stop and think for a bloody moment! It's a trap!"

The Master ignored her as he looked up to the sky. "Come home." He said, raising his hands and laughed. He heard something in the mix of the four beats, his grin spread across his face and he laughed louder. "We have contact!"


	11. Sacrifice

"Sir, we've got a fix. Hundred and five thousand miles in orbit." One of the Master minions informed, glancing at the monitor. A small green line was moving in towards the middle of the monitor at a ferocious speed. "He's moving sir. He's moving very fast." The minion said, looking up to the Master with a slightly worried glance.

The Master waved his hand and kept his eyes on the nuclear bolt. "I don't need him. Any second now I'll have Time Lords to spare. Take him out! Launch the missiles!" The Master ordered without a care.

Clara gathered as much energy she could and pushed the goons off of her. Bolting for the controls as one of the Master's minions was about to push the launch button. She slammed her shoulder into him, knocking him off balance. A few of the minions were a bit stunned that she had managed to move so fast and were only now grasping the fact of what was going on. They started to advance towards her as she grabbed the fallen minions gun and aimed it at the controls. Clara emptied the rounds onto the controls, destroying its functions and the screen began to flicker.

Out of all this, the Master was still focused on what was about to come. He stood close to the nuclear bolt, defending it with his life as he waited, pure joy overtaking him. Noticing the minions advancing on Clara, he stuck his hand out and shot electrical energy at them. "Leave her be!" He yelled; all of the minions seemed to take a few steps back and simply stared at the Master.

The minion Clara had knocked over got to his feet and took a glance at the flickering screen. "He's headed straight for you sir."

"It matters not!" The Master yelled. "It's too late. They are coming." His tone was menacing as an all too familiar smile spread across his face, and Clara realized he was lost to his madness at the moment.

But she had to help him somehow. Had to save him. Because if she didn't, then she couldn't save the Doctor. Everything was coming together in her mind. Clara walked over to stand beside the Master, unafraid of him or whatever was oncoming. Looking to her, the Master smiled warmly and took her hand. "Closer and closer and closer, they are coming." The Master said, squeezing her hand slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Clara looked at the nuclear bolt and noticed the whitepoint star sitting in it's chamber. If she could get it out of there, whatever was trying to breakthrough the created path would be stuck. Just as she was about to make a move, the glass dome above them shattered and the Doctor fell to the floor. Clara clamped a hand over her mouth to suppress her shock and absolute worry. Just as he lifted the revolver in his hand and dropped it back down to the floor, a bright white light shined behind him and a rumbling sound started. Five bodies appeared in what Clara thought to be the strangest outfits she had ever seen; and she had seen the Doctor himself in some funny clothes. Two of them were covering their faces which Clara didn't understand.

The man in the middle looked at them all with a grin that might have made Clara a bit nervous. "My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end." He said, then looked to Clara, his features unfazed as if he seemed to recognize her. "I know all you have done, Clara."

Clara couldn't help but shift from one leg to the other uncomfortably and kept her hand in the Master's. Then it hit her; memories of her different lives crashing into her head. It hurt, but Clara did her best to pick out the right ones. The Doctor and her on his home planet, Gallifrey. This man was Rassilon. And her other life's memory of him wasn't exactly a pleasant one.

The Doctor struggled to sit up from his current position, looking at the Time Lords. "Listen to me, you can't!" He tried to reason.

Rassilon looked back down at the Doctor, that grin never leaving his face. "It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child." Rassilon said.

Shaking his head, the Doctor sat up further, getting onto one knee. "Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realize what he's doing?" At this, Rassilon seemed to lose an edge to his grin.

The Master tensed up slightly and took a quick step forward. "Hey, no, hey! That's mine. Hush." The Master said to the Doctor and then looked at Rassilon with a smile. "Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them, because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mister President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me."

But Rassilon simply rose up his metal gauntlet and as it started to glow, everyone of the Master's minions started turning back into their regular human selves. The Master and Clara looked around in shock, the Master cursing as his plan had come to fail in a matter of seconds. Rassilon lowered his gauntlet and looked around at the people who were coming to. "On your knees mankind." He said and the people complied.

"No, that's fine. That's good." The Master said, turning back to Rassilon. "Because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that."

Rassilon ignored the Master as he looked up to the broken glass dome and at the sky. "The approach begins."

"Approach of what?" The Master asked as Clara looked up to the sky as well.

"Something is returning. Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy. Not someone, something." The Doctor mentioned as he sighed. "They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey. Right here, right now!"

Clara could see the red planet breaking through the clouds. The tidal forces of the arriving planet caused the Earth to start shaking as it broke through it's atmosphere. Things around them started to fall; the humans started running around and screaming. The room was clear within seconds, but Clara found herself glued to the sight above and stood with the other Time Lords in the room.

Looking from the sky, the Master looked to Rassilon with a smile. "But I did this! I get the credit. I'm on your side!" He yelled. "But this is fantastic isn't it?! The Time Lords restored."

The Doctor shook his head angrily. "You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. But if the Timelock's broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The War turned into hell. And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending." The Doctor said angrily.

"Someone explain to me please, how is it possible that a whole planet is coming through on a simple link from a tiny shiny rock?" Clara asked, finally pulling her gaze away from the red planet of Gallifrey.

Rassilon looked to her which immediately made Clara wish she hadn't spoken at all. He lifted his metal gauntlet and brought it down to the floor quickly four times, paused for a moment, and then did it again. Clara recognized the beat quickly and couldn't help but pity him as she looked at the Master. He seemed out of it. Unable to believe it. Rassilon's smile looked even more evil than before. "We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart."

"That's suicide." The Master noted, his expression unreadable.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be." Rassilon preached proudly.

The Doctor was gathering his energy, still trying to stand. "You see now? That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them."

"Take me with you then, Lord President! Let ascend into glory!" The Master pleaded.

Turning to look at him, Rassilon frowned and seemed to look angry. "You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making. Lord Master, all those years ago when we had to chose a child." Rassilon paused, that grin creeping back onto his face. "What if I told you Clara there was the Time Lord in training who chose you."

Everyone seemed to freeze. The Doctor didn't try to get up anymore as he turned to look at Clara. She was just as stunned as everyone else listening to this madman's words. The Master turned to look at her as well, his eyes filled with hurt and betrayal. "No, Master, I-" But Clara didn't know what else to day. That past life, if she had done it then it must have been because she knew this moment would happen. That is was a fixed point and couldn't be undone. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Shaking his head, the Master gave her a small smile and noticed the Doctor had finally gotten to his feet, pointing the revolver at Rassilon. The Time Lord seemed unfazed by the weapon being pointed at him and seemed to raise his chin even higher. "Choose your enemy well Lord Doctor. We are many but the Master is only one."

"But he's the president! Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours! He's to blame, not me!" The Master yelled, but shut up quickly when the Doctor turned to point to gun at him. "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it." He taunted.

Clara shook her head and pointed to Rassilon. "He's connected to the bridge as well, it's his whitepoint star!"

With that, the Doctor turned back to point the revolver at Rassilon. The Master looked from Clara to Rassilon quickly and then to the Doctor. "Exactly, it's not just me. It's him too! Kill him!" The Master urged.

Still seeming unfazed, Rassilon stood his ground as he smirked at the Doctor. "The final act of your life is murder. But which one of us?" He asked.

The Doctor stared at the Time Lords for a moment. Clara noticed one of the Time Lords covering their face lowered their hands and looked right at the Doctor. He seemed to slightly shake for a second as someone does when they are about to burst into tears. Suddenly the Doctor turned back to the Master and readied the revolver. "Get out of the way." He said, and when the Master moved himself and Clara, the Doctor shot the diamond in its gizmo. "The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon! Back into hell!"

With the link destroyed, the Time Lords were being sucked back to which they came. Rassilon's cool demeanor was finally gone and he was in a fit of rage. "You will die with me Doctor!" Rassilon yelled, pointing his metal gauntlet at the Doctor.

"I know." The Doctor whispered.

Clara was about to rush forward but was stopped by the Master who seemed angry and distraught. She tried to get past him but he refused to let her. "We have to help him!" She pleaded.

"I know." The Master said, his voice low. Looking at Clara, he stroked her cheek lightly and gave her a small smirk. "Spare me a thought every now and again Clara. And thank you. You helped me realize why I'm here. You saved me."

"What?" Clara said, but the Master had moved away from her and stood behind the Doctor.

Rubbing his hands together, the Master gathered the energy of his failing body. The electric energy started to spark on his hands and he took a deep breath. "Get out of the way." He told the Doctor, who quickly dropped to the floor just as the Master fired his energy bolt at Rassilon, hitting him. "You did this to me! All my life! You made me! One! Two! Three! Four!" With each count, he moved closer and shot a new bolt at Rassilon who had fallen to his knees.

"Master!" Clara yelled as the white light engulfed the five Time Lords and the Master, sending them back into the Timelock. She stood there for a moment shocked before looking at the Doctor who looked just as shocked as she was. "Doctor, are you alright?" She asked, kneeling beside him.

The Doctor looked up and gave her a small smile. "I'm alive, Clara. I've...there was...I'm alive." The Doctor stumbled over his words, smiling in relief.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

His smile faded quickly as another four knocks sounded. The Doctor and Clara turned to look at Wilfred who was still stuck behind the glass door. "They gone then?" He asked, swallowing nervously as they both looked at him. "Yeah, good-o! If you could let me out? Only this thing seems to be making a bit of noise." Wilfred said.

Getting to his feet, the Doctor looked at Wilfred with an emotionless expression. "The Master left the nuclear bolt running. It's gone into overload." He said with a sigh.

"And that's bad, is it?" Wilfred asked.

"No, because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing." The Doctor paced slowly around the area, Clara watching as his emotions started to give way and he looked sad and furious.

Wilfred seemed just as nervous as Clara was getting. "Well, better let me out then." He said to the both of them.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and showed it to Wilfred. "Except it's gone critical. Touch one control and it floods. Even this would set it off."

They mumbled to each other for a moment longer as Clara wrapped her head around what was going on. If the Doctor stepped in there, he would die. And there was no way they were going to leave Wilfred in there. She heard him suggest it and the Doctor was starting to have a moment, downing Wilfred. Blaming him even. But Wilfred let it slip off and demanded he'd be left in there.

"I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!" the Doctor yelled, tossing the items off of the closet desk to him simply to let out his rage, the sonic screwdriver falling out of his hands as he did so. "Oh. Oh. I've lived too long."

"So have I." Clara said, picking up the dropped sonic screwdriver and walking over to the door. She turned to the Doctor who was raising a hand at her to try and get her to move away from the other glass door. "Doctor, it's been an honor. And don't worry, this song is ending, but the story never ends. You're going to like the next you."

Wilfred took a deep breath and shook his head. "Don't! Please!" He yelled.

The Doctor looked as though he was on the verge of tears. "Clara, step away, please. They said I was to die. Let me do it." He spoke softly and took a step forward.

But Clara shook her head and gave him a smile. "No Doctor, you don't die here today. I do." She turned and nodded to Wilfred. "Better be quick." And she pressed the sonics button.

The door opened and Clara dropped the sonic, went inside and locked herself in, letting Wilfred out. Suddenly the nuclear energy was causing her so much pain. Clara dropped onto her knees and covered her head. Vaguely, she could hear the Doctor banging on the door and screaming her name. But his cried faded and so did the pain. Clara saw his face one last time before she exited that time of his life.

_I don't know where I am. I don't know where I'm going or where I've been. I was born to save the Doctor, but the Doctor is safe now. I'm the Impossible Girl, and my story is done._

Landing a bit roughly on the ground, Clara sat up and looked around the gloomy place. The fog moved around her, the light giving off a soft glow. She looked around with nothing either way. "Doctor?" She called, but there was nothing. "Doctor?! Please, please, I don't know where I am." She leaned forward and sobbed slightly. Now that her task was done, was she going to spend the rest of her time lost here?

"Clara. You can hear me, I know you can." The Doctor's voice rang out from the fog and shadows.

Clara looked around, trying to find the source of his voice. "I can't see you."

"I'm everywhere." The Doctor said. "You're inside my time stream. Everything around you is me."

At that moment, Clara saw his many faces walking and running past her. All the faces she had seen him have before. "I can see you. All your different faces, they're here." She said smiling. But still her Doctor didn't come into view, causing her smile to fad.

"Those are my ghost. My past." The Doctor's voice echoed as the last of his ghost rushed past Clara. "Every good day, every bad day."

The ground rocked harshly, causing Clara to be knocked to the ground. She got onto her knees quickly, resting her palms on the ground to keep herself steady. "What's wrong?! What's happening?" Clara yelled to the Doctor.

"I'm inside my own time stream, it's collapsing on itself." The Doctor answered.

Clara sniffed slightly as her brows furrowed neatly. "Well, get out then!" She yelled.

"Not until I've got you." The Doctor half yelled back.

Sniffing again, Clara couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. "I don't even know who I am." She cried.

"You're my 'impossible girl' Clara." His voice paused for a moment. "I'm sending you something. It's not from my past, but from yours. Look up, look." Looking up, Clara saw the familiar dead leaf falling its way down to her. "This is you, Clara. Everything you were or will be. Take it. You blew into the world on this leaf. Hold it tight, it will take you home."

Clara held the leaf in her hand, looking at it as she took a few steps forward, stumbling slightly. "Doctor?" She whispered, hearing something behind her, she turned around slowly to see.

"Clara! Clara, come on! Come to me, now!" The Doctor called, the usual face Clara knows coming into focus. "You can do it, I know you can."

"How?" Clara asked as she took a step toward his forming self, stumbling a bit as her head spun.

The Doctor held out his arms to her as his time stream flashed to his side, bring him through to her fully. "Because it's impossible, and you are my impossible girl! How many times have you saved me, Clara? I can remember them all. Just this once, just for the hell of it, let me save you!" He saw the small disbelief in her face, her worry that he might just be another ghost, another echo in his time stream. "You have to trust me, Clara! I'm real, just one more step."

Clara stumbled into the Doctor's arms, hugging him and holding him tightly just as he did to her. The embrace felt like a relief. She was saved, she was finally saved. What must have only been moments for him was many lifetimes for her. The exhaustion of it all was finally catching up to her and she struggled to keep herself upright. The Doctor sighed in his own relief, kissing her cheek and running his hand over her hair as he didn't let go.

When his hold softened a bit, Clara looked up at him to see him looking down at her, his eyes a bit glassy. Had he been crying, feeling just as relieved as she did? But then his gaze looked away from her and stared at something behind her. She turned to see someone standing there, confusion running through her mind. "Who's that?" She asked, staring at the man standing there.

The Doctor shook his head and slightly tugged her towards him. "Never mind, let's go back."

"But who is he?" She asked, unable to take her eyes off the unfamiliar person.

Realizing he had to give her some type of answer, the Doctor rushed out his words. "He's me. There's only me here, that's the point. Now let's get back."

Clara stood her ground and finally tore her gaze away. "But I never saw that one. I saw all of you, eleven faces. You're the eleventh Doctor." Clara said, her words rushing out.

"I said he was me; I never said he was the Doctor." He said, looking away from the figure and trying to reassure her.

Shaking her head slightly, Clara looked back at the man. "I don't understand."

"Look, my name, my real name, that is not the point. The name I chose is the Doctor. The name you choose, it's like, it's like a promise you make. He's the one who broke the promise." The Doctor looked back at his other self as well.

Unable to hold herself up any longer, Clara fainted, the Doctor catching her quickly and picking her up. "Clara? Clara?!" He sighed softly when he felt her still breathing. "He is my secret." The Doctor whispered to her.

The other Doctor seemed to have known they were there and spoke. "What I did, I did without choice. In the name of peace and sanity."

Growing a bit angry, the Doctor held Clara tightly in his arms and frowned. "But not in the name of the Doctor." He said harshly before turning and making his way out of his time stream. The Doctor had saved many people in his whole of time and space traveling. Some he didn't get to. He'd lost so many. But this time he'd realized that all those times he'd ever saved others, there had been an angel there to save him. His Impossible Girl. His Clara. The Doctor smiled as he cradled her closer to himself. "Thank you, Clara." He whispered, placing a small kiss on her forehead and kept his back turned to his biggest secret.

 

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
